TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Southeast Missouri 56, UIC 55
@Wasthington 71,
SIUE 40
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 56, UIC 55
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (5-6) buried a season-high 10 three-pointers and made a huge defensive stop to edge Illinois-Chicago (8-3), 56-55, Tuesday morning at the Show Me Center.
Neither team scored for the final 2:12 of the game and UIC had the ball with 43 seconds left following two missed free throws by Kennedi Watkins.
Sara Zabrecky missed a 3-pointer and Kristian Young grabbed the offensive rebound to extend the Flames' possession. After a 30-second timeout, Julia Sion stole the ball from Danyel Middleton and time expired.
SEMO knocked off a strong UIC team and overcame a double-digit deficit to pull off its exciting come-from-behind victory.
Down, 28-17, with 5:14 remaining in the second quarter, the Redhawks put together a ferocious 16-0 run to take a five-point advantage.
Kiyley Flowers, Alecia Doyle and Jaliyah Green each made a 3-pointer to kickstart the surge. Doyle later tied the game at 28-28 on a jumper and Michaela Mayfield drained a 3-pointer to put the Redhawks ahead, 31-28, on their ensuing possession.
Two free throws by Green widened SEMO's lead to 33-28 with 1:30 to go before the Redhawks led, 33-32, at the half.
Less than 30 seconds into the third quarter, Kristian Young made two free throws to regain a 34-33 lead for UIC. That, however, was the last time the Flames would be ahead.
SEMO took its biggest lead when Doyle splashed in a 3-pointer off a turnover to make it a 49-43 game with a little over two minutes left.
Then, late in the fourth quarter, UIC scored five-straight points to cut SEMO's lead to 56-55 and did not score again after that.
SEMO shot 56 percent (10-of-18) from 3-point range with seven different players making a three. The Redhawks last had 10 or more 3-pointers made in a non-conference game vs. Illinois-Springfield (11) on Dec. 4, 2018. At one time, SEMO made seven 3-pointers in a row.
Flowers paved the way with 11 points on 3-of-5 field goals and 3-of-4 free throws. Two of her field goals came from long range.
Doyle followed close behind with 10 points. She, too, hit a pair of 3-pointers.
Defensively, SEMO forced 19 turnovers and converted those into 28 points. The Redhawks held a +16 margin (28-12) in points off turnovers.
Josie Filer topped UIC with 15 points and nine rebounds.
The Redhawks won their fifth-straight game at home where they are undefeated (5-0) this season.
SEMO, which ended non-conference play against the Flames, breaks for nine days before starting Ohio Valley Conference play at Southern Indiana on Dec. 29.
WASHINGTON 71, SIUE 40
SEATTLE, Wash. - SIUE led by three points midway through the first quarter, but the Washington Huskies regained their lead shorty after and never looked back, downing the Cougars 71-40 in their final nonconference game of the season on Tuesday afternoon. Washington held SIUE to just 25 percent from the floor while shooting 47 percent and outrebounded the Cougars 50-30.
SIUE wraps up its nonconference slate 1-10 overall. Washington improves to 9-2.
The Cougars trailed the Huskies 20-13 after the first period. The Cougars showed bright spots on defense, forcing nine turnovers away from the Huskies while going 6-6 at the free throw line.
Madison Webb reduced the Cougars' deficit to five following a step back jumper in the paint to start the second quarter, but the Huskies would run away following a 10-0 run to lead SIUE 36-22 at the break.
The Huskies held the Cougars to just two points in the third while shooting 41 percent to take a 26-point lead heading into the final quarter.
The Cougars responded to score 16 points in the final period, shooting 31 percent (5-16) while going 6-6 at the free throw line. SIUE shot 3-5 behind the arc in the fourth.
Senior forward Ajulu Thatha led the scoring efforts for SIUE finishing with 13 points. She shot 5-11 from the floor and 2-2 at the free throw line. Thatha also led the Cougars with eight rebounds, three steals, and two blocks.
Molly Sheehan added eight points for the Cougars and was 2-5 from three-point territory. She was also 2-2 at the line.
Eight Cougars recorded minutes off the bench in the contest with five recording at least one point, assist, rebound, or block.
SIUE will begin its OVC schedule on Dec. 29 at First Community Arena against Tennessee Tech. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 pm and will be streamed on ESPN+.