Tech pulls away from Southeast women after half

Southeast Missouri State hung with the Ohio Valley Conference's first-place women's basketball team for a half Saturday.

But Tennessee Tech took control in the second half to build a big lead and held off a late rally for a 69-59 victory at the Show Me Center.

"We played a real good first half. We played real hard," sophomore forward Katie Norman said. "At the beginning of the second half, we didn't come out as strong as we needed.

"They're a really good team. It's hard to come back against a good team."

The Redhawks, who held several first-half leads and trailed just 29-25 at the intermission, fell to 7-14 overall and 3-8 in OVC play. They are tied for seventh place in the 10-team conference.

Southeast Missouri State sophomore Erika Lane fouls Tennessee Tech defender Molly Heady on her way to the basket during the second half Saturday. (Laura Simon)

Tech (16-4, 10-1), which also beat Southeast 62-48 on Dec. 21 in Cookeville, Tenn., extended its winning streak to seven games.

The Eagles, who snapped a four-game losing streak to Southeast at the Show Me Center, finished a 4-0 road trip.

"One of the things we did before this trip started, we talked about being road warriors," Tech coach Sytia Messer said.

A battle of squads with no seniors was extremely tight in the opening half, which featured six lead changes and six ties.

Tech built a quick 9-2 lead, its biggest of the period, before Southeast righted the ship. The Redhawks' largest advantage was three points.

Southeast Missouri State sophomore Jasmine Davis takes a shot in front of Tennessee Tech defender Kylie Cook during the first half Saturday.

The Eagles broke the game's last tie of 25-25 by scoring the final four points of the first half, taking the lead for good on two free throws by all-OVC junior guard Tacarra Hayes with 1 minute, 47 seconds remaining.

"I thought we could have been even or ahead at the half," Southeast coach John Ishee said.

Tech started the second half strong, building a 37-27 lead just 4:10 in. Southeast got no closer than eight points and trailed by double figures most of the period.

Southeast's biggest deficit was 54-36 with eight minutes left. The Redhawks made things a bit interesting by pulling within 59-51 at the 2:49 mark.

The Redhawks had a chance to draw closer on their next possession but failed to capitalize. Tech iced the win by making 8 of 8 free throws over the final 1:34.

"I was proud of our effort. We never quit," Ishee said. "They're a very good team. They have all the parts."

Norman led Southeast with 14 points and three steals.

Sophomore guard Erika Lane scored a season-high 12 points a game after reaching her previous season high of 10 points during Thursday's loss to Jacksonville State.

Lane, who made her first start of the season and second career start, has come on strong after recently missing several weeks with a stress fracture.

"I missed it, to be able to help my team," Lane said.

Sophomore forward Brittany Harriel, Southeast's top rebounder and No. 2 scorer, went down late in the first half and limped off the court with what Ishee said was a strained hamstring.

Harriel returned to start the second half but played just 11 minutes of the period. Ishee didn't want to risk further injury once Tech opened a big lead.

"They [Southeast[']s medical staff] said she could go," Ishee said. "It didn't look like she was 100 percent and the way things were going, I didn't want to take a chance with all the injuries we've had."

Hayes was a thorn in Southeast's side. She posted a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. She also had a game-high five assists.

"She's a very good player, an extremely gifted athlete," Ishee said.

Freshman forward Molly Heady led the Eagles with 20 points despite not starting the game. She started the second half and scored 14 points.

"I went with a different lineup with Molly Heady. I felt like that was the key offensively," Messer said about Tech's strong second half.

The Redhawks continued to be plagued by turnovers and on the boards. They had 24 turnovers and were outrebounded 42-34, including 19-10 on the offensive glass.

"They keep killing us," Norman said of those two areas. "We're right there, but we can't seem to put it together for 40 minutes to beat a good team."

Southeast returns to action Tuesday at SIU-Edwardsville, which joins the OVC next season.