The victory marks the first time in four years the Bearkat women have won their season opener.

Sam Houston (1-0) never trailed in the game but the contest was a roller-coaster with the Kats building big leads then having the Redhawks battle back to make it close.

"It wasn't pretty, but we will take the victory any way we can get it," Sam Houston head coach Brenda Nichols said.

The Bearkats shot 35.3 percent from the field and committed 25 turnovers. But the SHSU defense made 18 steals and forced Southeast Missouri into 30 turnovers.

"We had the good, the bad and the ugly," Nichols said. "I felt like I was watching a Clint Eastwood movie. Two of our returning players, Chanice and Clarke, led the way and we got some good play out of some newcomers."

The Bearkats opened the game with a 13-0 run. But the Redhawks charged right back to cut the margin to 13-10 with 9:55 to play in the first half.

Sam Houston led 32-23 at intermission, but a 9-0 run by Southeast Missouri in the first five minutes of the second half brought about the first of two ties in the contest. After the game was tied 32-32 and 34-34, SHSU went on a 12-2 run to go up 46-36 with 12:37 to play.

Again the Redbirds fought back. Bianca Beck's layup cut the SHSU margin to one, 47-46 with 5:21 to play. Sam Houston outscored Southeast 10-1 in the final five minutes to hold on to the victory.

Jalessa Thomas scored eight points for Sam Houston and Martin added seven. Devin Wombles led the Kats with seven rebounds.

Other scorers for the Bearkats included Wombles with six points and Nyha Carter and Zoe Tucker with four points apiece.

Sam Houston now  will face Ole Miss in the tournament finals Saturday afternoon at  3 p.m. Mississippi defeated Jackson State 69-64 Friday.

The Bearkats' first home game will be Wednesday, Nov. 17, when SHSU plays host to Centenary in the annual "Pack the House" game at 12 noon.