The Southeast women's basketball team lost a frustrating battle against Austin Peay on Saturday, falling 61-50 in Ohio Valley Conference play at the Show Me Center Saturday.
Southeast came out strong, winning the first quarter 15-9, but weren’t able to outscore Austin Peay for the remainder of the game.
The Redhawks shot 32.7 percent from the floor and struggled to rebound the ball, losing the battle on the boards 41-29. Austin Peay freshman forward Arielle Gonzalez-Varner pulling down a game high 12 rebounds, including eight on the offensive glass.
Southeast coach Rekha Patterson was not pleased with her team’s effort, citing the rebound battle and other areas.
“I thought our effort was poor,” Patterson said. “And theirs was great.”
Patterson said her team only had good effort and energy for maybe two to three minutes in the 40-minute game.
Patterson said she was frustrated her team couldn’t repeat some of the things they did well in a one point loss at Austin Peay on Jan. 6.
“Our tempo, our pace, our purpose, it was bad. It was all bad,” Patterson said. “We just didn’t play together, and it was a struggle.”
Austin Peay took the lead at the 6:21 mark in the second quarter, a lead that they would never give up, and headed into the break up 33-27. Senior center Brianne Alexander lead the way for Austin Peay on Saturday with a career high 26 points. The Governors improved to 12-12 overall and 8-3 in OVC play.
Despite the loss, there were still some bright spots from the Redhawks. Senior guard Ashton Luttrull was making plays on both sides of the ball, scoring 19 points and contributing three steals. Junior guard Adrianna Murphy had a strong defensive game, and contributed six assists.
The Redhawks bench scored 7 points, compared to Austin Peay’s reserves scoring 27.
The Redhawks will look to bounce back as they travel to Morehead State on Thursday, Feb. 8, before visiting University of Tennessee Martin on Saturday, Feb. 10. Southeast returns to the Show Me Center on Feb. 14 to battle it out with Eastern Illinois.
