NEW ALBANY, Ind. – The IU Southeast women's basketball team defeated Simmons 89-86 on Tuesday.
 
IU Southeast began the scoring with a three by Karly Sweeney. A Leah Miller jumper gave IU Southeast an 8-5 lead, but Simmons scored six straight points to take an 11-8 advantage.
 
A three by Simmons later in the first gave the Falcons an 18-12 lead. After a 4-0 IU Southeast run, Simmons scored nine straight points to take a 27-16 lead into the second quarter.
 
IU Southeast began the second quarter with a 5-0 run to cut the Grenadier deficit to 27-21. After a three by Simmons, IU Southeast answered with a three by Grace Stapleton to narrow the Simmons lead back to six at 30-24.
 
Simmons extended their lead to nine at 39-30, but Jesse Ledgerwood hit a three to cut the Grenadier deficit back to six at 39-33. Trailing 44-35, IU Southeast used a 4-0 run to cut the Simmons edge to five at 44-39. Simmons led 48-41 at the half.
 
Simmons extended their lead to nine at 55-46 early in the third quarter, but IU Southeast used a 6-0 run to make it 55-52. With Simmons leading 57-54, Leah Miller hit a three to tie the game at 57-57.
 
Free throws by Simmons gave the Falcons a three-point lead, but a three-point play by Karly Sweeney tied the game at 60-60. A three by Simmons later in the third gave Simmons a 65-62 lead, but a layup by Grace Stapleton and a jumper by Leah Miller gave IU Southeast a 66-65 edge. Simmons hit a layup to take a 67-66 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
IU Southeast took a 68-67 lead on a Katie Durbin jumper to open the fourth quarter. Simmons hit a layup to swing the lead back into their favor, but Jesse Ledgerwood hit two free throws to give IU Southeast a one-point advantage.
 
Simmons hit a three to take a 72-70 lead, but IU Southeast responded with a Grace Stapleton three to give the Grenadiers a 73-72 edge. A layup by Jesse Ledgerwood gave IU Southeast a 75-72 lead.
 
After a jumper by Simmons, IU Southeast used a 5-0 run to take an 80-74 advantage. A three by Simmons cut the Grenadier lead to three, but Grace Stapleton responded with another three to extend the IU Southeast advantage back to six at 83-77.
 
Trailing 84-79, Simmons scored five straight points to tie the game at 84-84 with nine seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession, Leah Miller connected on a three to give IU Southeast an 87-84 lead with four seconds remaining.
 
After two Simmons free throws, Leah Miller responded with a pair of free throws with two seconds left to give IU Southeast an 89-86 lead. Simmons was unable to get a shot off at the buzzer as the Grenadiers secured an 89-86 victory.
 
Grace Stapleton led the way for IU Southeast with a career-high 19 points on 7-10 shooting, including going 5-8 from three. Karly Sweeney also scored 19 points and had a team-high four steals. Linzie Wernert registered a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds while also dishing out a team-high five assists. Leah Miller had 15 points, and Jesse Ledgerwood added 10.
 
IU Southeast returns to action on Saturday at Midway.