OVC #6
Southeast Missouri (6-4, 4-1 OVC) vs. Austin Peay (7-3, 5-1 OVC)
 
Game Information
Date: Saturday, January 16, 2021
Tip-off: 1 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Arena: Show Me Center
Series: Austin Peay leads the all-time series, 34-25
Last Meeting: SEMO Win | 81-43 | Jan. 16, 2020 | Show Me Center
Head Coaches: Rekha Patterson (86-77, Sixth Season); David Midlick (80-80, Sixth Season at APSU)
 
Follow the Redhawks
Video: ESPN+
Radio: ESPN 93.5 FM & 1220 AM (Erik Sean)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Twitter: @OfficialSEMOWBB
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF)
Austin Peay (PDF)
 
Redhawks Face Austin Peay Saturday at the Show Me Center
Southeast Missouri women's basketball (6-4, 4-1 OVC) completes it two-game homestand Saturday when they host Austin Peay (7-3, 5-1 OVC) at the Show Me Center. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m., CT. 
 
Follow the Redhawks 
Fans can listen to Saturday'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 
Austin Peay leads the all-time series, 34-25, but the Redhawks have won the last two meetings. SEMO swept the 2020-21 regular-season series with a victory in Clarksville, Tennessee, and at the Show Me Center. The Redhawks most recently dropped APSU, 81-43, on Jan. 16, 2020 in Cape Girardeau.
 
Scouting the Governors
Despite falling to 5-1 in OVC play with a 69-53 loss at UT Martin, Austin Peay is off to its best six-game OVC start since the 2002-03 season. The Governors were selected to finish the 2020-21 season ninth overall in the league.
 
Block Party!!
The Redhawks notched single-game records for blocks in its Thursday night victory over Murray State. LaTrese Saine swatted away a career-best 10 to improve upon her previous Redhawk single-game blocks record (6 at Morehead State, 2/8/18). As a team the Redhawks finished with 13, which surpassed the previous mark of 10 set on Feb. 14, 2007 at EIU. 
 
Saine leads the conference with 39 blocked shots and averages 3.9 blocks per game.
 
Three Ball
SEMO knocked down a season-high 50 percent from beyond the arc in its Thursday night victory over Murray State. The Redhawks were 6-for-12 on treys and were led by Tesia Thompson (2-4). Terri Smith (1-4), LaTrese Saine (1-2), Roshala Scott (1-1) and Sophie Bussard (1-1) each had a trifecta in the game. It marked the second OVC game this season that SEMO had hit 6-for-12. 
 
That's In SAINE
LaTrese Saine led the Redhawks this past Thursday with a career-best 10 blocks and a season-high 16 rebounds. She just missed the triple-double, finishing with nine points. 
 
Saine has registered double-digit rebounds in each of the past three games, pulling down 10 in back to back games against Tennessee State. 
 
Go off Tesia!!
Tesia Thompson led the Redhawks Thursday with a game-high 28 points including 17 in the final quarter of play. In the fourth alone, Thompson was 5-for-8 on field goals. Overall, she was 9-for-18 and 2-for-4 from behind the arc. Thompson was also perfect at the charity stripe, knocking down all eight attempts.
 
In the past four games, Thompson has finished in double-digits scoring three times and posted double-figures for boards in three contests. 
 
She also leads the conference with 182 total points (18.2ppg, second). 
 
First Career Start at SEMO for Smith
Terri Smith made her first career start as a Redhawk with the absence of Taelour Pruitt due to injury. Smith, a Western Kentucky transfer, matched a personal-high six points in a career-high 36 minutes of court time.
 
Double-Figures for RO SCOTT
Roshala Scott has finished in double-figures scoring each of the past four 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 had 11 and 12 in the past two games at TSU and against Murray State. 
 
Four in a Row!!
SEMO has won its last four Ohio Valley Conference games after dropping its league opener to UT Martin on Dec. 18, 2020. Since then, the Redhawks have notched four-straight wins over Tennessee Tech (Dec. 30, 2020), Tennessee State (Jan. 2 & Jan. 9) and most recently Murray State this past Thursday. 
 
Board Woman Gets Paid
The Redhawks lead the league with 418 rebounds (41.8/game) this season and are outrebounding their opponents by a margin of 4.6. 
 
Approaching the Century Mark
Tesia Thompson has started in all 10 games this season and is one game away from 100 in her career at SEMO. Thompson has appeared in 99 contests thus far as a Redhawk.  
 
In the OVC this season, Thompson leads the conference in field goal attempts (154), free throw attempts (63) and free throws made (49). She also is fourth in the league with 82 rebounds.
 
50 Conference Wins
With Thursday's victory over Murray State, head coach Rekha Patterson has now totaled 50 career Ohio Valley Conference wins. In six seasons at SEMO, Patterson has fashioned an 86-77 mark with a record of 50-41 in league play. 
 
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. 
 
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.
 
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 1,679 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.