Photo by: Krishnan Collins | Sports Editor: Morgan Wallace holds the ball against SEMO in the Red Wolves’ 79-67 loss to the Redhawks. Wallace scored two points and registered six rebounds. 

The Arkansas State women’s basketball team fell 79-67 to Southeast Missouri State Wednesday night in the First National Bank Arena.

SEMO jumped out to an early lead and never really looked back. At times it looked like A-State might claw their way back into the matchup but anytime the Red Wolves picked up momentum SEMO answered with buckets of their own.

A-State struggled shooting from the floor ending the game with a shot percentage of 35.6%. The Red Wolves dug themselves into a big hole after going 2-18 from the field in the first quarter and A-State did not seem to have an answer for a disciplined Redhawks side.

“(SEMO) just played two days ago, they didn’t look like they had any dead legs,” A-State head coach Matt Daniel said. “Ours wasn’t about the legs, it was about the mentality. They were better mentally, physically and emotionally than we were on both ends of the floor.”

Peyton Martin led the Red Wolves with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Jireh Washington chipped in with 17 points. Payton Tennison rounded out the Red Wolves double digit scorers registering 12 points. Martin seemed at a loss for words when describing why the Red Wolves started so poorly.

“Maybe nerves,” Martin said. “Or, I have no idea.”

Daniel chipped in with thoughts of his own about the team’s slow start.

“You know this group has a lot of energy,” Daniel said. “When the lights come on we get quiet. It very well could be nerves. They can feel the change in the atmosphere. We got to continue to learn and grow and overcome those things.”

Tesia Thompson led SEMO with 26 points while Jessie Harshberger also scored in high numbers with 21 points. Carrie Shepard also had a stellar game for the Redhawks as the redshirt senior scored 19 points.

Daniel talked about building a relationship with the fans even after a loss and what it takes to build a great program.

“You better go thank those that stick around after you get your tail beat,” Daniel said. “We’re going to build this thing. It’s going to built the right way on relationships and it’s going to be built to last. It’ll be built strong. It just takes time. If it wasn’t broken we wouldn’t be here in the first place. We’ll just try and go back to the drawing board. It’s literally going back to the drawing board because I’m riddled by what I saw.”

Game Summary

Fourth Quarter

Martin made a 3-point basket with 8:30 left to play to bring Red Wolves within nine at 65-56.

After Harshberger made a layup to put the Redhawks up 11, A-State head coach Matt Daniel called a timeout to talk things over with his offense before an in-bounds play.

Clearly not liking what he saw on the ensuing in-bounds play, he called a timeout again. This back-to-back timeout sequence illustrated A-State’s offensive performance on the night.

Third Quarter

Early in the third quarter Martin found Morgan Wallace under the basket as Wallace finished the move with a nice layup to bring the Red Wolves within eight at 47-39.

However, as soon as A-State gained any ground, SEMO would always fire back. Shepard hit a three to put the Redhawks ahead 50-39.

The Red Wolves battled to stay in the game throughout the third quarter and Kayla Williams converted on a jumper to keep A-State within eight, 61-53, heading into the fourth quarter.

Second Quarter

It looked like SEMO was running away with the contest in the second quarter, but the Red Wolves went on an eight point run to end the second period and it kept A-State in touching distance of the Redhawks heading into half time.

SEMO started the quarter with momentum as Shepard was fouled on a 3-point attempt and converted all three of her free throws to put SEMO ahead 26-8. Harshberger caused problems for A-State in the second quarter, the Dodge City, Kansas native made two 3-point baskets in the period and started a nine point SEMO run with her second 3-point shot.

Shepard tacked on two 3-pointers of her own as SEMO took a 40-21 lead.

With the matchup looking bleak, Martin made a layup for the Red Wolves before Tennison connected on a 3-point basket. Washington finished the eight point run with a long 3-pointer as time expired to send the Red Wolves into the break behind 40-29.

First Quarter

SEMO absolutely dominated the Red Wolves in the first quarter. A-State opened the game  2-18 from the field and went into the second quarter behind 20-6.

The momentum clearly favored the Redhawks as Harshberger put SEMO ahead 13-4 after making a 3-point basket.

Things only got worse for A-State when Latrese Saine completed a 3-point play after being fouled on a made layup to put SEMO ahead 18-4.

It looked like the Red Wolves were only going to make one shot from the field in the first quarter before Martin ended the period with a basket to make sure the Red Wolves finished 2-18 in the quarter.

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