Redhawks Soar to Their Third Consecutive Victory: A Thrilling 75-68 Triumph Over Tennessee State

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Southeast Missouri Women’s Basketball (4-8, 2-1 OVC) secured its inaugural away triumph of the season on Thursday night with a 75-68 win over Tennessee State (4-9, 0-3 OVC) at the Gentry Center. 
 
Guard Indiya Bowen achieved a career-best 25 points during the game on 9-for-17 shooting, which included 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, and a flawless 4-for-4 at the free throw line. Bowen surpassed her former record of 20 set in 2023-24. 
 
Bowen was among the three Redhawks to tally in double figures, Zoe Best contributed 18 and Lexi McCully added another 13 points. As a unit, SEMO concluded with 26-for-62 from the floor (41.9) and 8-22 from three-point range (36.4). 
 
SEMO held a significant edge at the charity stripe, outclassing the home team by almost 20-percent, 78.9 to 58.5. The Redhawks also intensified their defense, transforming 28 forced turnovers into 20 points. 
 
Zoe Best initiated the scoring for both squads on the Redhawks’ initial possession with a three-pointer from the left corner. Indiya Bowen followed with the next basket as SEMO started the game on a 5-0 run. 
 
A 6-0 surge from TSU granted them their first advantage in the match before Lexi McCully drove coast-to-coast and floated it over the TSU defender to reclaim a one-point lead. 
 
McCully’s floater ignited a 13-2 run over the following two minutes as Best scored two free throws and sank another three-pointer to increase it to 12-6 for the Redhawks. 
 
Following a TSU layup from Lyric Cole, Ainaya Williams netted six consecutive points to extend SEMO’s lead to 18-8 with a little over four minutes remaining.
 
A McCully three-pointer capped the opening quarter for SEMO, this one from the left wing, putting SEMO ahead by 10 (21-11).
 
TSU concluded the quarter with a 5-0 run, reducing the gap to 21-16 by the end of the first quarter. 
 
Best resumed the scoring in the second quarter, followed by a McCully jumper, making it 25-16 as the second ten minutes commenced.
 
With 3:14 left before halftime, TSU narrowed the deficit to their smallest since the first quarter when Erin Martin connected on a jumper to bring it to 30-27 Redhawks. 
 
That would be the last score for the Tigers as Indiya Bowen ended the half with a personal 10-0 run, which included two three-pointers, over the last 2:53 before halftime. The Redhawks led 40-27 at the break. 
 
Best and Bowen led SEMO’s scoring at halftime with 13 and 12 points, respectively. As a team, SEMO shot an impressive 47-percent from the floor (15-32) and an even more remarkable 50-percent (6-12) from long range. 
 
SEMO induced 18 turnovers from TSU in the first half, converting them into 20 points. The Redhawks’ defense restricted TSU to shooting merely 34.8-percent (8-23) from the field, and a scant 9.1-percent (1-11) from beyond the arc. 
 
The third quarter saw TSU regain footing with a 23-14 advantage thanks to a shooting percentage of 61.5 compared to SEMO’s 28.6. 
 
SEMO struggled in this quarter, making just one three-pointer (1-5), yet managed to maintain its standing at the free throw line, finishing 5-for-6 in the third against TSU’s 6-10. 
 
As the third quarter concluded, the Redhawks led 54-52. Indiya Bowen began the scoring for the fourth quarter with a three-pointer, extending SEMO’s advantage back to five, and the Redhawks controlled the remainder of the game from that point forward. 
 
Looking Ahead
SEMO Women’s Basketball will be back in action on Saturday, January 4, facing UT Martin. The game is set to tip-off at 1 p.m. CT in Martin, Tenn.