Southeast Missouri (10-5, 2-2 OVC) vs Austin Peay (10-5, 1-3 OVC)

Game Information
Date: Thursday, January 16, 2020
Tip-off: 5:15 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Arena: Shoe Me Center
Series: APSU leads, 34-24
Last Meeting: SEMO 79, APSU 66 | January 2, 2020 | Dunn Center
Head Coaches: Rekha Patterson (65-70, Fifth Season). David Midlick (79-57, Fourth Season).
 
Media Information
Video: ESPN+
Radio: SEMO ESPN 1220 AM (Erik Sean & Jess Bolen)
Live Stats: GoSoutheast.com
Twitter: @OffiicialSEMOWBB

Tipping Off 
The Southeast Missouri women's basketball team continues its Ohio Valley Conference homestand against Austin Peay Thursday. Start time is set for 5:15 p.m., CT, at the Show Me Center. This is the second matchup between the Redhawks and Governors this season.

Follow the Redhawks 
Fans can listen to Thursday's game live on the radio at SEMO ESPN 1220 AM with Erik Sean calling the action alongside Jess Bolen. The broadcast will also be streamed at SEMOESPN.com and on the SEMO ESPN app. Video can be accessed at ESPN+. Live stats are available at GoSoutheast.com. Twitter updates will be available at @OfficialSEMOWBB. 

Series History 
Southeast Missouri trails its all-time series against Austin Peay, 34-24. The most recent matchup was at the Dunn Center where the Redhawks defeated the Governors, 79-66, on Jan. 2, 2020. SEMO is 3-6 against the Governors under head coach Rekha Patterson. The Redhawks are 13-14 against Austin Peay in Cape Girardeau.

Scouting the Governors
The Governors are 10-5 this season with a 1-3 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play. Since the Redhawks faced the Governors, APSU has gone 1-2 with a win over Jacksonville State (Jan. 11) and loses to UT Martin (Jan. 4) and Tennessee Tech (Jan. 9).  APSU is 4-3 on the road and 1-1 in road OVC contests. The Governors average 70 points, 38.3 rebounds and 8.5 three-pointers per contest. Freshman Shay-Lee Kirby was named Co-Freshman of the Week for the second time this season. Kirby has scored double figures in four of the Governors home contests. Senior Arielle Gonzalez-Varner was named OVC Player of the Week earlier this season after posting her fourth double-double of the season.

Redhawks Nationally Ranked
The Redhawks are ranked in the top 20 nationally in offensive rebounds per game (6th, 16.9) and rebounds per game (5th, 45.07). SEMO leads the OVC in rebounding margin (9.0), fewest turnovers (219), offensive rebounds per game (16.9), total rebounds (676), rebounds per game (45.1), scoring offense (73.2) and turnovers per game (14.6). Individually, Carrie Shephard ranks in 3-point field goals per game (10th, 3.2), 3-point field goals made (14th, 48), and 3-point field goals attempted (32nd, 117). Shephard leads the OVC in each of those categories. 

Non-Conference Play
The Redhawks finished their non-conferece slate with a 8-3 record. SEMO dropped games to Eastern Michigan (64-69, Nov. 19), Saint Louis (76-61, Dec. 3) and Western Illinois (97-91, Dec. 17). The Redhawks blew past SEC's Ole Miss (70-53, Dec. 14) and Harris-Stowe (106-64, Dec. 29), and beat Evansville (83-60, Nov. 10), Arkansas State (79-67, Nov. 13), Purdue-Fort Wayne (58-48, Nov. 21), Southern Illinois (79-65, Dec. 7) and Indiana State (68-55, Dec. 21). Carrie Shephard leads the team with 18.4 points and 3.7 three-pointers per game. SEMO was undefeated when leading at halftime and forced 15-plus turnovers in all but one contest during its non-conference season.

1,000 Point Club
Junior Tesia Thompson became just the 10th Redhawk in the Division I era to surpass 1,000-career points. She reached this milestone at Ole Miss (Dec. 14) in the first quarter. In her career, Thompson averages 15.8 points per contest. She was sidelined for three games this season due to a concussion.  Olivia Hackmann (2012-2017) was the last Redhawk to score over 1,000 points.

SEMO Holds Off Austin Peay
Carrie Shephard scored a game-high 19 points and Southeast Missouri used a key run down the stretch to hold off Austin Peay in a 79-66 Ohio Valley Conference opening win Jan. 2 at the Dunn Center. SEMO handed APSU its first home loss of the season and locked down on the defensive end to bury the Governors. It was the first time the Redhawks defeated the Governors in Clarksville under head coach Rekha Patterson. 

Redhawks Topple Ole Miss
Southeast Missouri recorded a dominating 70-53 win over SEC member Ole Miss for its first road win over an SEC school in program history. The win was SEMO's second all-time against a SEC foe and first since the Redhawks beat Missouri, 90-71, at home on Nov. 24, 1998. The Redhawks started a season with wins in six of their first eight games for the first time since 1993-94.