Cape Girardeau, Mo. --- The Tennessee State University women's basketball team shot 60 percent from the field and 72.7 percent from three-point range in a crucial, 76-63, win over Southeast Missouri Thursday night in the Show Me Center.

In the first half, Tennessee State (10-16, 7-10 OVC) shot a blistering 66.7 from the field, including 75 percent beyond the arc to open up a 23-point lead over Southeast Missouri (7-20, 4-13 OVC). The Lady Tigers never trailed again.

Oby Okafor led TSU with 15 points to go along with eight rebounds while Meredith Stafford and LaDona Pierce each added 13. Nikki Rumph posted 10 points and Destiney Gaston pulled down a team best 10 rebounds for the Lady Tigers.

Katie Norman tallied a team-high 14 points while Bianca Beck posted 11. Balie Roberts registered a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards.

In the second half, SEMO began to chip away at the TSU lead early. The Redhawks went on a 15-2 run and cut the deficit down to 50-43 within the first seven minutes of play. At the 12:56 mark, a triple by Kesi Hess ended nearly a six minute scoring drought and put TSU back on top by double digits, 53-43.

The three-pointer by Hess, sparked a 7-0 run that made the score 58-43 in favor of the Lady Tigers. The Redhawks managed to narrow the gap down to 10 points once again with 7:26 remaining but that would be as close as they would get.

The Lady Tigers continued to make shots down the stretch to keep the Redhawks at bay.

TSU knocked down 8-of-11 three pointers in the game while going 30-of-50 from the field. The Lady Tigers were outrebounded 39-35 but held the advantage in assists, 16-12, and steals, 13-11.

Tennessee State returns to action on Saturday with the final regular season game at Eastern Illinois.