2020-21 OVC Opener
UT Martin (1-1) vs. Southeast Missouri (2-3) 
 
Game Information
Date: Friday, December 18, 2020
Tip-off: 3:30 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Arena: Show Me Center
Series: UTM leads the series, 39-30
Last Meeting: March 20, 2020 | 67-47 SEMO Win | OVC Tournament Championship Final in Evansville, Indiana
Head Coaches: Rekha Patterson (82-76, Sixth Season); Kevin McMillan (219-137, 12th season)
 
Follow the Redhawks
Video: ESPN+
Radio: ESPN 93.5 FM & 1220 AM (Erik Sean)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Twitter: @OfficialSEMOWBB
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF)
UT Martin PDF
 
OVC Opener
Southeast Missouri women's basketball (2-3) hosts preseason league favorite and 2019-20 regular season champion, UT Martin (1-1) Friday in its Ohio Valley Conference opener at the Show Me Center. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m., CT.
 
Follow the Redhawks 
Fans can listen to Friday's game live on the radio at ESPN 93.5 FM and 1220 AM with Erik Sean calling the action. The game will also be streamed live on ESPN+. Follow the game on Twitter @OfficialSEMOWBB.
 
Series History 
UT Martin leads the all-time series with SEMO, 39-30. The two teams clashed three times during the 2019-20 season with each squad winning at their home arena during the regular season. In the third and final matchup for the OVC Tournament Championship on March 20, 2020, the Redhawks bested the Skyhawks, 67-47. 
 
Scouting the Skyhawks
The Skyhawks are 1-1 in the early 2020-21 season with a win over Samford (75-67) on Dec. 8 and a season-opening loss at #5 Louisville (85-67). Chelsey Perry, the 2020-21 Preseason OVC Player of the Year, leads UTM with 57 total points (28.5 points per game) and 15 boards (7.5 per game).
 
UT Martin was picked as this year's preseason favorite. The Skyhawks went 22-10 overall and 16-2 in the OVC regular season in 2019-20 en route to winning their first regular season title since 2015-16.
 
Non-Conference Slate
SEMO has posted a 2-3 mark during the non-conference portion of it 2020-21 schedule. The Redhawks opened the season with a 74-53 loss to #5 Louisville on Nov. 25 before earning their first victory of the campaign over the University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy (75-44) on Dec. 1. SEMO dropped a 63-49 decision to Eastern Michigan on Dec. 6. The Redhawks notched their second win of the season over Western Illinois, 67-57. SEMO most recently fell to regional rival, Southern Illinois, 67-51 in Carbondale, Illinois, this past Sunday. 
 
Through five games, Tesia Thompson paces the team with 93 points (18.6 ppg) with 29 rebounds (5.8 per game). Taelour Pruitt (48 points) and LaTrese Saine (47 points) are averaging just under 10 points per game. Saine has posted 33 boards (6.6 per game) with 14 blocks (2.8 per game).
  
Opening OVC Play at Home
Friday marks the fourth time during the Rekha Patterson era at SEMO, that the Redhawks will open their Ohio Valley Conference slate at home. SEMO is 1-2 in these OVC openers at the Show Me Center. The Redhawks last won their OVC opener at home on Dec. 31, 2015 with an 81-74 win over Belmont. SEMO has been victorious in its past two OVC openers with road wins at Austin Peay (79-66) last season on Jan. 2 and at SIUE (62-52) on Jan. 3, 2019. Overall with Patterson at the helm, SEMO is 3-2 in OVC openers. 
 
Taelour Pruitt  at the Charity Stripe
Taelour Pruitt is a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line this season. Pruitt made both attempts in the season opener against #5 Louisville and continued that streak this past week against Western Illinois and at Southern Illinois. In the tilts with WIU and SIU, Pruitt registered back-to-back 4-for-4 outings at the charity stripe. Dating back to the 2019-20 season, Pruitt is currently 12-for-12 on free throws, sinking both in her trip to the line against UT Martin on March 7, 2020, in the OVC Tournament Championship Final. 
 
Offensively, Pruitt registered double-digit points in both games last week to close out the non-conference slate. The Arlington, Texas native, compiled 13 in the win over WIU and 19 at SIU. 
 
Minutes Leader
Sophomore guard Sophie Bussard leads the Redhawks and the OVC this season with 173 minutes of court time, averaging 34.6 minutes per game (third in the OVC). Bussard has competed in 30 plus minutes of action in four contests. She played in 40 minutes this past Friday against Western Illinois and concluded the week with 33 at Southern Illinois. Bussard is averaging seven points per game and has posted two or more assists in each tilt this season. 
 
Double-Digit Scoring
Tesia Thompson has scored in the double-digits in each of the past 27 games (22 in 2019-20 and all five in 2020-21), dating back to Dec. 29 of last season (18 points against Harris-Stowe). In this span, Thompson has notched 16 games (14 in 2019-20 and two this season) of 20 or more points. She has also hit 30-plus points twice, against Eastern Michigan (30) on Dec. 6 and 39 points against Belmont on March 6, 2020 in the OVC Tournament. 
 
In the OVC, Thompson leads the conference in points (93), field goal attempts (79) and free throw attempts (35). She ranks second for field goals made with 32 and free throws made (25). Thompson's 18.6 points per game puts her third in the league. 
 
Ro Scott with the Steal
Sophomore Roshala Scott leads the team with 11 steals which is second in the OVC this season. Scott is averaging 2.20 steals per game (fifth in the OVC) and has notched at least one in all five games this season. Scott recently posted a season-high four steals in SEMO's victory over Western Illinois on Dec. 11.
 
Block Party
LaTrese Saine is averaging just under three blocks per game (2.8) this season and has notched three or more blocks in all but two games. She has led the Redhawks in blocking in each of the past four games and is second in the OVC for blocks (14, ninth nationally) and blocks per game (2.8, 16th nationally). The redshirt-senior from West Memphis, Arkansas, tallied a season-high of five against Eastern Michigan on Dec. 6 and finished last week with three at Southern Illinois on Dec. 13. 
 
Saine set SEMO's all-time career blocks record against Eastern Michigan and has accumulated 123 in her career (14 in 2020-21) as a Redhawk. She surpassed the previous record of 115 blocks held by both Vera Roberts and Pam Iverson. 
 
On the boards, Saine has accumulated 33 rebounds (6.6 per game) including 10 in the season opener against #5 Louisville on Nov. 25.
 
Recipe for Success
In SEMO's two wins, the Redhawks have shot over a .400 clip (.508-.304 vs. UHSP and .466-.306 vs. WIU) and won the rebounding battle (45-22 vs. UHSP and 42-35 vs. WIU). In both wins, SEMO has also notched double-digit assists (22-8 vs. UHSP and 17-15 vs. WIU).
 
Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Watch List
Her Hoop Stats named Southeast Missouri senior guard Tesia Thompson to the 2021 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award Preseason Watch List. Last season, Thompson averaged 19.7 points and 7.7 rebounds in 30.6 minutes per game. She ranked nationally in free throw attempts (14th, 206), free throws made (12th, 160) and points per game (17th, 19.7). Thompson was named to the OVC All-Tournament Team and earned tournament MVP honors after recording 93 points, 30 rebounds and 18 assists in three postseason contests.
 
OVC Preseason Poll
Southeast Missouri was picked third in the 2020-21 Ohio Valley Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Poll. Senior guard Tesia Thompson was named to the Preseason All-OVC Team for the third-straight year. SEMO tallied 206 points in the overall voting by the OVC Head Coaches and Communications Directors. The Redhawks also collected two first-place votes. UT Martin was picked as this year's preseason favorite after earning 242 points and 22 first-place votes. The Skyhawk's went 22-10 overall and 16-2 in the OVC en route to winning their first regular season title since 2015-16.
 
1,000 Point Club
Senior Tesia Thompson became just the 10th Redhawk in the Division I era to surpass 1,000 career points. She reached this milestone last season at Ole Miss (Dec. 14) in the first quarter. She currently has 1,590 career points, putting her second all-time on the school's career scoring list in the Division I era. 
 
Ohio Valley Conference Tournament
SEMO won its second OVC Tournament Championship in program history and first since 2006-07 this last season. The Redhawks went undefeated at 3-0 in this year's conference tournament winning each of their final two games by double figures against the tourney's top-two seeds. A day after a staggering offensive showcase, #3 Southeast Missouri used a remarkable defensive effort to stomp UT Martin and win the 2020 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title with a 67-47 victory on Mar. 7, 2020. The Redhawks, who claimed the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, were unable to play further into the postseason due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Ring Ceremony and Banner Reveal
The Redhawks brought back the members of their historic 2019-20 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship team for a ring ceremony and banner reveal prior to their game against University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy (Dec. 1). SEMO capped the 2019-20 season with an overall record of 25-7 and 14-4 mark in OVC play. The Redhawks put together three record-breaking performances at the OVC Tournament to capture the crown and secure the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.