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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri used a pair of steals and quick baskets in a 15-second span late in the game to stretch out a one-point lead, completing a comeback from a nine-point halftime deficit and defeating Eastern Illinois women's basketball, 58-51, Saturday evening.
Maggie Kloak led EIU (10-6, 4-1 OVC) with 14 points, tying her season high.
Rachel Galligan and
Dominique Sims both finished with 11, Sims scoring all of her points in the first 14 minutes of the game.
Ellen Canale scored only four points, but recorded a career-high 12 rebounds and five assists before fouling out in the final minute.
The Panthers committed 14 of their 21 turnovers in the second half. SEMO (7-8, 3-2 OVC) cranked up the defensive pressure as the game went on. Eastern led 31-22 at intermission but was outscored 36-20 in the second half, connecting on just 5-of-25 field goal attempts.
Southeast Missouri led 52-51 with 1:41 remaining after a made basket by Sonya Daugherty. Following a team timeout called by the SEMO bench, EIU was unable to bring the ball past halfcourt on its next two possessions. The Redhawks’ full-court press forced a pair of EIU turnovers, with Lauren Sharpe and Daugherty both converting layups after their steals.
“They really physically whipped us in the second half,” EIU head coach Brady Sallee said. “They pressed us into some of the craziest turnovers I have seen in a long time. When you throw the ball all over the gym, you’re not going to be very good offensively. They took us out of everything we were trying to do and we let it happen.”
Prior to that game-deciding stretch, neither team had led by more than three points since the 14-minute mark of the second half.
SEMO used an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the game, 37-35, with 11:40 remaining. Kloak answered on the other end with a three-point play, ending EIU’s six-minute scoring drought. There were six ties and eight lead changes the remainder of the game. However, the Panthers did not lead by more than one point at any juncture.
Sims scored the first five points of the game, helping EIU jump out to an early 9-2 lead. SEMO answered and cut the lead to two, before the Panthers took control with a 16-5 run. Five different Panthers scored during the surge, Sims connecting on a pair of 3-pointers.
Southeast Missouri responded with a pair of 3-pointers and eight unanswered points, but Galligan scored the final two field goals of the half to give EIU its nine-point lead heading to the locker room.
The loss was EIU’s third of the season when leading at halftime. The Panthers have not won in Cape Girardeau since 2001.
With its five-game road stretch complete, EIU returns home to host Eastern Kentucky Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The Panthers have won 13 consecutive games at Lantz Arena.
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Ben Turner, Asst. SID