#3 Southeast Missouri (22-7, 14-4 OVC) vs #6 Tennesse Tech (17-12, 10-8 OVC)

Game Information
Date: Thursday, March 5, 2020
Tip-off: 3 p.m., CT
Location: Evansville, Ind.
Arena: Ford Center 
Series: TTU leads, 32-20
Last Meeting: SEMO 72, TTU 59 | Feb. 22, 2020 | Cookeville, Tenn.
Head Coaches: Rekha Patterson (77-72, Fifth Season). Kim Rosamond (56-65, Third Season).
 
Media Information
Video: ESPN+
Radio: ESPN 93.5 FM & 1220 AM (Erik Sean)
Live Stats: GoSoutheast.com
Twitter: @OffiicialSEMOWBB

Tipping Off 
The Southeast Missouri women's basketball team heads to the 2020 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Thursday. The #3 Redhawks will face #6 Tennessee Tech in the first round of the Tournament. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m., CT, at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.

Follow the Redhawks 
Fans can listen to Thursday's game live on the radio at ESPN 93.5 FM and 1220 AM with Erik Sean calling the action. Video can be accessed at ESPN+. Live stats are available at GoSoutheast.com. Twitter updates will be available at @OfficialSEMOWBB. 

Coach Rekha Patterson Named OVC WBB Coach of the Year
Rekha Patterson won her first Ohio Valley Coach of the Year award and became the third Southeast Missouri head coach to claim the honor. Ed Arnzen (1999) and John Ishee (2007) were the honorees. In her fifth season, Patterson led the Redhawks to a 22-7 overall record and third-place finish with a 14-4 mark in OVC play. It was SEMO's highest OVC finish since the 2007-08 season. The Redhawks achieved their success after being predicted to place sixth in the league's preseason poll. Statistically, SEMO leads the OVC in scoring offense (73.1 ppg) and scoring margin (+10.5), while ranking third with a .328 three-point field goal percentage.

Shephard and Thompson Named All-OVC First Team
Carrie Shephard and Tesia Thompson both garnered First-Team All-OVC accolades. A junior, Thompson secured her third-straight all-conference honor. She was named OVC Freshman of the Year before claiming first-team honors in back-to-back seasons. Thompson averages 19.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in conference play, ranking third and ninth in the OVC in those categories, respectively. Shephard, a senior, broke her own SEMO single-season record in 3-pointers made with 88 this year. In her junior and senior seasons, Shephard made a combined 161 three-pointers which place her fourth all-time at SEMO in career 3-pointers made.

Series History 
Southeast Missouri trails its all-time series against Tennessee Tech, 32-20. This will be the third meeting between the teams this season. SEMO won both games against the Golden Eagles during the regular-season.. SEMO defeated TTU, 87-72, on Feb. 8 at the Show Me Center and,  72-59, on Feb. 22 at the Hooper Elam Center. The last time the Redhawks swept the Golden Eagles in a season was 2009. SEMO is 1-3 against the Golden Eagles at the OVC Tournament. 

Scouting the Golden Eagles
The Golden Eagles finished the regular season at 17-12 and 10-8 in conference play. Tennessee Tech is on a four-game losing streak after starting conference play with eight wins in a row. As a team, TTU averages 69.4 points, 37.4 rebounds and 8.1 three-pointers per contest. Kesha Brady averages 14.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Brady has 49 assists and 118 made free throws. 

Redhawks History in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament
Southeast Missouri holds an all-time  8-18 record in the OVC Tournament. The last victory for the Redhawks in the tournament was in 2008 when the #1 SEMO defeated #8 Jacksonville State, 67-45 in the First Round. The Redhawks then fell in the semifinals to #4 Eastern Illinois, 52-40.

Redhawks Make the 2020 OVC Tournament
The Redhawks are in the Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Tournament for the fourth-straight season. SEMO secured the #3 seed for its highest finish since the 2007-08 campaign. The last time SEMO advanced past the first round of the tournament was in 2008. 

Ohio Valley Conference Tournament
The OVC Basketball Championship will be held at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana again this year. The Championship will feature 14 games of basketball action spanning four days as teams compete to capture the OVC title and earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The opening rounds of the 2020 OVC Basketball Championships begin on Wednesday, March 4. The championship games will be played on Saturday, March 7, 2020. 

Shephard Breaks Records
Carrie Shephard has made 88 three-pointers this season, setting the single-season record in 3-pointers made. Shephard holds the top two single-season marks after draining 73 made 3-pointers a year ago. Shephard made 161 three-pointers in her career thus far and stands fourth on SEMO's all-time career list. Julie Meier (1991-1995) holds the record with 174 three-pointers made.

Redhawks Nationally Ranked
The Redhawks rank in the top 20 nationally in offensive rebounds per game (7th, 16.1), rebounding margin (12th, 9.3), rebounds (8th, 1,264) and rebounds per game (9th, 43.59). SEMO leads the OVC in offensive rebounds per game (16.1), rebounding margin (9.3), scoring margin (10.5), scoring offense (73.1) and won/loss percentage (75.9). Individually, Tesia Thompson is ranked in free throws made (20th, 136) and free throws attempted (29th, 173). 

Shephard Reaches Top 20
Guard Carrie Shephard ranks among the top NCAA women's basketball players in various categories. The Steele, Missouri native is ranked in 3-point field goals per game (12th, 3.03), 3-point field goals made (9th, 88), 3-point field attempted (16th, 222), and steals (37th, 67). Shephard leads the OVC in each of these categories.

11-Game Winning Streak Ends
Southeast Missouri was on a season-long 11-game winning streak before falling to Jacksonville State on Feb. 20. The streak began with a 83-54 win over Tennessee State on Jan. 11. SEMO is 10-1 at home this season. The 11-game winning streak was the longest in the Ohio Valley Conference and was tied for the seventh longest streak in Division I women's basketball. The last time the Redhawks held a winning streak this long was during the 2007-08 campaign. SEMO won 12-straight games and finished with a 17-3 mark in OVC play to win the regular-season title that year. 

Block Party
Redshirt-junior LaTrese Saine registered 44 blocks this season, landing her eighth among the school's single-season leaders. Chandra Brown (2004-05) holds the record with 49 blocks in a single season. Saine has 105 blocks in her career, putting her fourth among SEMO's career leaders. Vera Roberts (1986-90) holds the career record with 115 blocks. 

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 16.2 points per contest. She was sidelined for three games earlier this season due to a concussion. Olivia Hackmann (2012-2017) was the last Redhawk to score over 1,000 points. 

Thompson Scores Big
Junior Tesia Thompson has 1,393 points in her career at Southeast Missouri. Thompson is eighth all-time on the school's career scoring list. Gray C. Harris (1992-1996) holds the scoring title with 2,176 career-points. Thompson currently has 464 points this season, averaging 18.4 per contest. 

Non-Conference Play
The Redhawks finished their non-conference 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.

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.