RIO GRANDE, Ohio – The IU Southeast women's basketball season came to an end on Wednesday as the Grenadiers fell to No. 19 Rio Grande 94-68 in the RSC Tournament Quarterfinals.
 
Rio Grande led 7-3 halfway through the first quarter. A three by Karly Sweeney and a jumper by Taylor Treat put IU Southeast ahead 8-7, but a 5-0 RedStorm run put Rio Grande back ahead 12-8.
 
IU Southeast fought back and tied the game at 14-14. Rio Grande hit a three to take a 17-14 lead, but Makenna Wilson answered with a three to tie the game at 17-17. Rio Grande held a 20-19 lead headed into the second quarter.
 
IU Southeast tied the game at 22-22 early in the second quarter, but Rio Grande used a 9-0 run to take a 31-22 lead. Grace Stapleton connected on a three to make it 31-25, but Rio Grande responded with a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 37-25.
 
IU Southeast got the lead back down to nine, but the RedStorm led 48-36 at the half.
 
Rio Grande led 56-45 three minutes into the second half. Jesse Ledgerwood hit a three to cut the Rio Grande lead to eight at 56-48, but the RedStorm used a three-point play to extend their lead back to 11 at 59-48.
 
IU Southeast used a 7-0 run to cut the Rio Grande lead to four at 59-55, but the RedStorm quickly extended their lead back to nine at 65-56. Rio Grande led 70-59 at the end of three.
 
Rio Grande extended their lead to 14 at 76-62 two minutes into the fourth quarter. IU Southeast cut their deficit to 11, but Rio Grande closed the game on an 18-3 run to secure a 94-68 win.
 
"I'm proud of how hard these ladies fought tonight," IU Southeast interim head coach Derek Sims said. "Rio is a very good team. We knew we had to play our best for four quarters. We only did for two. However, we had a chance in the third. After that, we couldn't hit shots, had some very questionable or missed calls, and didn't rebound defensively. The score doesn't reflect how close and intense this game really was."
 
"Overall, I'm very proud of our team this year. I took over the third week into the season and changed just about everything that they were accustomed to doing with no major attitudes. They adopted my crazy mentality, worked hard and all got better! They should be proud of themselves. I'm going to miss the two seniors. Karly and Lexi embraced the change so well without any attitudes. I wish I had another year with them. I'm looking forward to the future. I like the direction our program is headed in."
 
Linzie Wernert led IU Southeast with 14 points and nine rebounds. Ella Brown had 10 points, and Jesse Ledgerwood added nine. Karly Sweeney had eight points, five rebounds, and three steals. Taylor Treat had seven points, seven assists, and three steals. Lexi Starr also added seven points.
 
IU Southeast finishes the year 14-13 overall.