EDWARDSVILLE – Kaitlin Lee had a memorable performance in her first start for the SIUE women's basketball team Thursday, but it wasn't enough to propel the Cougars to a victory.
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Southeast Missouri withstood Lee's 18 points and 13 rebounds to top SIUE 66-56 in an Ohio Valley Conference contest in First Community Arena at the Vadalabene Center.
"Kaitlin really stepped up, and I really love it when someone gets an opportunity and makes the best of it," SIUE Head Coach Paula Buscher said. "She played tough and under control, showed a lot of confidence and did a great job."
Lee, a 6-foot, 1-inch redshirt freshman from Flossmoor, Illinois, said: "I was sort of nervous at the start of the game, but I stayed calm and kept reassuring myself."
She added, "It was one of the best games I have ever had. I can't remember ever having a better game."
Lee scored a season-best nine points in a reserve role against Jacksonville State on Saturday, but doubled that output against SEMO. Lee made 4 of 8 field goals and converted all 10 of her free throws. The last time any Cougar was perfect from the line in 10 or more attempts was Tierny Austin at SMU on Nov. 23, 2012.
Teammate Tori Handley – another freshman -- pitched in 12 points and Zaria Whitlock collected 10 rebounds, but SEMO had three players score in double figures. Tesia Thompson led the Redhawks with 17 points.
The Redhawks pulled away from the Cougars in the final five minutes to win their fourth consecutive game and improve to 13-5 overall and 5-2 in the OVC. They have prevailed in seven of their last nine games.
The Cougars, hounded by a season-high 29 turnovers, dropped to 3-15 and 1-5. SIUE made 19 of 55 shots, including 6 of 17 from three-point land. The Cougars converted 12 of 18 free throws and were outrebounded 42-40, yet held SEMO scoreless on three-pointers for the first time this season. The Redhawks were 0 for 11 beyond the arc and 24 of 61 overall. SEMO made 18 of 31 fouls shots.
"We played tough and hard, but the biggest takeaway from this game is that we made too many turnovers," Buscher said. "When you turn it over 29 times, it's extremely hard to win."
SEMO led at half, 37-33, though SIUE owned a 15-5 midway through the first quarter. However, the Redhawks responded with a 12-0 run to take the lead in the see-saw half.
"We started aggressively, but we didn't keep our momentum," Buscher said.
The Cougars conclude a four-game homestand at 2 p.m. Saturday when they welcome second-place UT Martin, 10-8 and 7-1, at 2 p.m. SIUE then travels to Austin Peay (Jan. 30) and Murray State (Feb. 1) before returning home to entertain Morehead State at 11 a.m. on Feb. 6 in the Cougars' annual Education Day game.
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