OVC #5
Southeast Missouri (5-4, 3-1 OVC) vs. Murray State (5-4, 2-2 OVC)
 
Game Information
Date: Thursday, January 14, 2021
Tip-off: 6 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Arena: Show Me Center
Series: SEMO leads 35-29
Last Meeting: SEMO Win | 88-73 | Jan. 18, 2020 at the Show Me Center
Head Coaches: Rekha Patterson (85-77, Sixth Season); Rechelle Turner (43-56, Fourth 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)
Murray State (PDF)
 
Redhawks Host Murray State Thursday to Open Two-Game Homestand
Southeast Missouri women's basketball (5-4, 3-1 OVC) takes on conference rival Murray State (5-4, 2-2 OVC) Thursday at the Show Me Center. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m., CT. 
 
Follow the Redhawks 
Fans can listen to Thursday's game live on the radio at ESPN 93.5 FM & 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 
SEMO leads the all-time series with Murray State, 35-29. The Redhawks and the Racers split their pair of OVC games during the 2019-20 season with each team victorious in their own gym. SEMO won the most recent meeting, 88-73, on Jan. 18, 2020, at the Show Me Center. 
 
Scouting the Racers
Murray State (5-4) has fashioned a 2-2 record in the conference thus far and most recently held off Morehead State to beat the Eagles, 69-62, Monday night at the CFSB Center. Macey Turley led MSU in the game with 17 points and a season-high eight assists, while Lacey Hawthorne notched her first double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 boards.
 
Murray State was pegged to finish the season eighth in the preseason league poll.
 
Regular-Season Sweep of TSU
The Redhawks completed a regular-season sweep of Tennessee State this past Saturday with a 64-45 victory at the Gentry Center. Four Redhawks finished in double-figures including a pair of double-double performances.
 
Happy Birthday LaTrese!!  
LaTrese Saine led the Redhawks scorers this past Saturday on her birthday, matching a career-best 16 points to complement a season-high 10 rebounds and six blocks for her second straight double-double. Saine, a redshirt-senior from West Memphis, Arkansas, was 6-for-10 from the field and 4-for-6 at the charity stripe.
 
Saine is second in the conference for blocked shots with 29 (3.22 blocks/game, second). She is also averaging 7.1 rebounds per game.
 
Redhawks at Belmont Rescheduled
SEMO's road game at Belmont has been rescheduled for Tuesday, February 9 at 5 p.m., CT in Nashville, Tennessee. 
 
Four Double-Digit Scorers
When SEMO finishes with at least four double-digit scorers, the Redhawks are 5-0 including 3-0 in the OVC (TTU and TSU (2)). 
 
This past Saturday at TSU, LaTrese Saine had a team-high 16 points followed by Tesia Thompson (14), Taelour Pruitt and Roshala Scott (11).
 
SEMO also had four double digit scorers in its wins over Western Illinois on Dec. 11 (67-57) and University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy on Dec. 1 (75-44).
 
Steals for Days
SEMO registered a season-best 13 steals at Tennessee State this past Saturday. Taelour Pruitt led the way with five. Tesia Thompson chipped in three and Roshala Scott had two. LaTrese Saine, Sophie Bussard and Terri Smith each finished with one. The Redhawks are averaging 15.6 steals per game (181) during the 2020-21 campaign.
 
Double-Figures for RO SCOTT
Roshala Scott has finished in double-figures scoring each of the past three contests. After finishing with a career-best 13 in back-to-back games at Tennessee Tech (Dec. 30, 2020) and vs. Tennessee State (Jan. 2), Scott concluded Saturday's game at TSU with 11.
 
She has also compiled three or more assists in each of those games and is averaging 3.3 during the campaign (ninth in the OVC). Scott is also seventh in the league with 1.78 steals per game. 
 
The Prowess of Pruitt
Offensively, Taelour Pruitt has registered double-digit points in the last six Redhawks games. The Arlington, Texas native, most recently compiled 11 points with five steals and two assists at Tennessee State this past Saturday.
 
Pruitt is second on the team, averaging 10.8 points per game (97 points) this season and dishing out just under three assists per game (2.9, 26 total). She also leads the team at the charity stripe, converting at 81.5 percent (22-27).
 
Thompson on the Glass
Tesia Thompson led the Redhawks this past Saturday at Tennessee State with a game-high 12 boards. She is fourth in the conference with 75 rebounds (8.3/game). In the past three contests, Thompson has notched 10 or more rebounds including a career-best 16 at Tennessee Tech on Dec. 30, 2020. 
 
She has also registered double-double performances in two of the last three games. Thompson finished this past Saturday with 14 points to complement 12 boards and had 21 points and 16 rebounds at TTU. 
 
Approaching the Century Mark
Tesia Thompson has started in all nine games this season and is two games away from 100 in her career at SEMO. Thompson has appeared in 98 contests thus far as a Redhawk.  
 
In the OVC this season, Thompson leads the conference in field goal attempts (136). She also is second with 41 free throws made on 55 attempts and averages 17.1 points per game.
 
That's Saine
In the past four games, LaTrese Saine has finished in double-digits in three of them. She has also registered consecutive double-doubles against Tennessee State (15 points/10 rebounds, 16 points/10 rebounds).
 
Saine has finished in double-digits scoring five times and is averaging 10.4 points and 7.1 boards per game this season. 
 
First Two OVC Wins of the Season
SEMO overcame Tennessee Tech, 79-70, to capture the Redhawks' first Ohio Valley Conference win of the 2020-21 season Dec. 30, 2020 at the Eblen Center. The Redhawks then earned their second OVC win of the campaign with an 84-50 drubbing of TSU on Jan. 2.
 
Board Woman Gets Paid
The Redhawks lead the league with 374 rebounds (41.56/game) this season and are outrebounding their opponents by a margin of 5.1. 
 
Block Party 
As a team, the Redhawks are second overall in the league with 55 blocks this season and 6.1 blocks per game. SEMO registered a season-best nine total blocks in its victory over TTU (Dec. 30, 2020) and most recently had eight at TSU (Jan. 9).
 
LaTrese Saine is second in the conference with 29 (3.22 blocks/game) and Kennedi Allen is fourth with 11 (1.38 blocks/game). 
 
50 Conference Wins
Head coach Rekha Patterson is one win away from 50 career Ohio Valley Conference wins. In six seasons at SEMO, Patterson has fashioned an 85-77 mark with a record of 49-41 in league play. 
 
Non-Conference Slate
SEMO 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 then fell to regional rival, Southern Illinois, 67-51, in Carbondale, Illinois, on Dec. 18. 
 
In five non-conference games, Tesia Thompson paced the team with 93 points (18.6 ppg) and 29 rebounds (5.8 per game). Taelour Pruitt (48 points) and LaTrese Saine (47 points) averaged just under 10 points per game during the non-conference slate. Saine also posted 33 boards (6.6 per game) with 14 blocks (2.8 per game).
  
OVC Preseason Poll
SEMO was picked third in the 2020-21 Ohio Valley Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Poll. 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. 
 
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, 2019) in the first quarter. She currently has 1,651 career points, putting her second all-time on the school's career scoring list in the Division I era. 
 
OVC Tournament Champions
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.