Southeast women's basketball team falls short of upset vs. Mizzou

~ The Southeast women led by nine points at halftime in a 62-57 loss to Missouri

Trailing by eight points with 32 seconds left in the game, Southeast Missouri State senior guard Jordan Hunter made two free throws before the team went into a full-court man-to-man press.

Kara Wright quickly came up with a steal for the Redhawks and connected with Olivia Hackmann, who scored a layup, to pull within three points late in the game.

The Redhawks kept the press on, but fouled to stop the clock after they failed to get another steal. The Tigers made three of their final four free throws over the last 25 seconds to top Southeast 62-57 on Thursday at Mizzou Arena.

"Honestly I'm not about moral victories, but I am really proud of the way our team responded from a lackluster performance against Western Kentucky at home," Southeast coach Ty Margenthaler said. "I was really proud of the effort they displayed for 40 minutes. They did a tremendous job sticking with our gameplan, and by doing that it gave them a great opportunity to win the game down the stretch. It really came down to Missouri just made a few more plays down the stretch, but we had great opportunities to win against a quality program."

Missouri took a 5-0 lead to start the game, but after that never led by more than four points in the first half.

Southeast took a 32-23 lead into half and Margenthaler warned his players about what would follow after the break.

"I told them, 'Right now, Missouri's getting a butt-chewing, and the first five minutes is crucial and we can't let our guard down. We know the type of team we're playing. We're on the road. We have to continue to be aggressive,'" Margenthaler said. "Unfortunately, they came out of the locker room and they decided we were doing such a great job on their guards. They started going down low and really hammered down low, and we got beat up pretty good down low tonight."

Missouri went on an 11-1 run to start the second half for a 34-33 lead. The Tigers never led by more than eight.

Southeast held Missouri to just one 3-pointer on 15 attempts. The Tigers, which had made 27 3-pointers in their first three games, made 13 from behind the arc against the Redhawks last year in an 80-51 Missouri victory.

Missouri's Bri Kulas led all players with a career-high 27 points. She also had five rebounds.

Kara Wright led the Redhawks with a career-high 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting.

"She was doing a little bit of everything," Margenthaler said. "She was 4 for 4 from 3-point range. She did a great job of penetrating to the rim and finishing around the basket. She was a handful tonight for Missouri. She scored from different areas and different ways. That's the type of player Kara is, and it was great to see her shine on a big stage."

Hackmann finished with nine points off the bench. Patricia Mack finished with 10 second-half points and seven rebounds.

Connor King had 12 rebounds and two free throws that cut the lead to three points with two minutes left.

Missouri's Jordan Frericks had seven points and eight rebounds. Kayla McDowell finished with eight points and three rebounds.

Southeast's next opponent is Wichita State at 2:05 p.m. Saturday in Wichita, Kansas.

"It doesn't get any easier," Margenthaler said. "Wichita State is outstanding. They beat Kansas State last night by [23] points at Kansas State. We know we have a tough battle, but this can only help our team once conference play rolls around."