Southeast Missouri (1-0)
at Stephen F. Austin (2-0)
Game Information
Date: Monday, Nov. 15, 2021
Tip-off: 6:30 p.m., CT 
Location: Nacogdoches, Texas
Arena: William R. Johnson Coliseum
Series: First Meeting in Program History
Head Coaches: Rekha Patterson (96-84, Seventh Season); Mark Kellogg (142-43, Seventh Season at SFA)
Video: ESPN+
Radio: SEMOESPN 
Live Stats: SideArm Stats
 
Southeast Missouri (1-0)
at #21 Texas (1-0)
Game Information
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021
Tip-off: 11 a.m., CT 
Location: Austin, Texas
Arena: Frank C. Erwin, Jr., Special Events Center
Series: First Meeting in Program History
Head Coaches: Rekha Patterson (96-84, Seventh Season); Vic Schaefer (21-10, Second Season at Texas)
Video: Longhorn Network
Radio: SEMOESPN 
Live Stats: SideArm Stats
 
Follow the Redhawks
Twitter: @OfficialSEMOWBB
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri
Media Guide: Southeast Missouri

Redhawks Trek to the Lone Star State to Face Stephen F. Austin and #21 Texas Monday and Wednesday
Southeast Missouri women's basketball (1-0) travels to the Lone Star State for a pair of weekday matchups at Stephen F. Austin (2-0) and #21 Texas (1-0) Monday and Wednesday this week. SEMO will open its trip Monday against Stephen F. Austin at the William R. Johnson Coliseum in Nacogdoches, Texas. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m., CT. The Redhawks then conclude their non-conference excursion versus #21 Texas Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. at the Frank C. Erwin, Jr., Special Events Center in Austin, Texas.
 
Follow the Redhawks 
Monday's game will be televised live on ESPN+ while Wednesday's game will be televised live on the Longhorn Network. Follow both games on Twitter @OfficialSEMOWBB. Fans can listen to both games live on the radio at SEMOESPN.
 
Series History 
SEMO will face both Stephen F. Austin and Texas for the first time in program history this week.
 
Scouting the Opponents
Ladyjacks
Stephen F. Austin is 2-0 in the early 2021-22 season with wins at UTSA (77-50) on Nov. 9 and over Houston (73-52) on Nov. 12.
 
SFA was tabbed as the runners-up in the 2021-22 WAC preseason poll in its first season in the conference. Stephanie Visscher (First Team), Zya Nugent (First Team) and Aiyana Johnson (Second Team) were named Preseason All-WAC.
 
Stephen F. Austin went 24-3 in 2021-22 including a perfect 14-0 record in the Southland Conference for the regular-season and tournament titles. The Ladyjacks fell to Georgia Tech, 54-52, in overtime of their NCAA First Round matchup.
 
Longhorns
Texas opened the 2021-22 campaign with a 131-36 victory over New Orleans on Nov. 9. The Longhorns face #2 Stanford Sunday before returning to Austin, Texas, to face SEMO on Wednesday.
 
UT introduced a total of eight players to the court during their season-opening win over UNO including four freshmen. Aaliyah Moore and Rori Harmon drew starting nods while Kyndall Hunter and Latasha Lattimore saw significant playing time off of the bench. Junior Mississippi State transfer Aliyah Matharu made her presence felt immediately as she racked up 18 points off the bench on an efficient 6-of-8 from the field.
 
Texas is currently ranked #21 in the USA Today/WBCA coaches' poll and #25 in the Associated Press' poll.
 
The Longhorns were also picked to finish in a tie for second place in the Big 12 Conference.
 
The Longhorns posted a 21-10 mark and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight during head coach Vic Schaefer's first season in Austin in 2020-21. Texas had an impressive run through the NCAA tourney, including wins over No. 2-seed Maryland, No. 3-seed UCLA and No. 11-seed Bradley.
 
Pruitt Returns Home to Texas
Taelour Pruitt, a senior guard from Crowley, Texas, returns home this week to the Lone Star State for SEMO's matchups at Stephen F. Austin and Texas. The Redhawks ate dinner at Pruitt's house Saturday night to conclude their travel day.

Redhawks Ink Alecia Doyle for 2022-23 Season
SEMO announced the signing of Alecia Doyle for the 2022-23 season Nov. 11. Doyle, a 5-8 guard from Herrin, Illinois, is a four-year starter and letter-winner and will graduate from Carterville High School in May 2022.
 
As a junior, she was named Southern Illinoisan Player of the Year, AP First Team All-State, Illinois Basketball Coaches Association All-State, Mississippi First Team All-Conference and SICA All-South Team.  She averaged 20.1points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals per game.
 
First Win in 2021-22
SEMO captured its first victory of the 2021-22 campaign, 68-45, over the University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy (UHSP in St. Louis) (1-3) Nov. 9 at the Show Me Center.
 
Three Redhawks finished in double-figures including a team-high 14 points and four rebounds from Roshala Scott. Freshman Kennedi Watkins chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds in her first career start. Deanay Watson also finished with a career-best tying 12 points and five boards.
 
Shymaryia Christopher and Jaliyah Green also both made their first career collegiate starts in the victory. Christopher finished with eight points while Green had five. Halle Smith, Johné Stewart and Kori Tomlin also made their Redhawk debuts. Tomlin led all SEMO players with 25 minutes. Taelour Pruitt dished out a career-best matching seven assists to accompany eight points.
 
Exhibition Recap
SEMO defeated William Woods, 66-49, in exhibition play Nov. 1 at the Show Me Center.
 
Freshman Jaliyah Green led the Redhawks with 16 points to go with five rebounds and Deanay Watson chipped in 13 points hauling down eight rebounds. Roshala Scott added nine points and Shymaryia Christopher finished with seven.
  
OVC Preseason Poll
Southeast Missouri was selected to finish sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2021-22. The Redhawks received 91 points in the projected order of finish.
 
Belmont, the 2020-21 OVC Tournament Champions, was selected to finish first with 15 first place votes and 159 total points in the preseason poll. Destinee Wells, the 2020-21 OVC Tournament MVP and Freshman of the Year from Belmont, was tabbed the 2021-22 OVC Preseason Player of the Year.
 
Team Makeup
The Redhawks return four starters from its 2020-21 team in seniors Taelour Pruitt and Deanay Watson along with juniors Roshala Scott and Sophie Bussard.
 
Scott was third on SEMO this past season with 10.2 points per game (265 points) and ranked fifth in the OVC in 2020-21 with 3.4 assists per game. Pruitt averaged just under 10 points (9.9, 159 points) per game in 2020-21. Bussard netted 8.8 points per contest (230 points) and paced the OVC with 931:15 minutes of court time, averaging 35.82 minutes per game.
 
Sophomores Michaela Mayfield, Chandler Davis and Shymaryia Christopher round out the returnees this season. Mayfield was the lone freshman from that group to play this previous year and saw time at forward.

The Redhawks also added eight newcomers in three transfers, four freshmen and a sophomore.
 
Johné Stewart and Pearl Dean bring NCAA Division I experience to the team while Kori Tomlin transferred in from Moberly Area Community College.
 
Freshmen Kennedi Watkins, Halle Smith, Jaliyah Green and Diona Reed along with sophomore Joi Ward complete the 2021-22 squad.
 
2021-22 Schedule
The Redhawks will play a 30-game schedule with 16 matchups at the Show Me Center during the 2021-22 season.
 
Southeast Missouri will play 11 non-conference games to commence the season with home meetings against UHSP (Nov. 9), Arkansas State (Nov. 22), Southern Illinois (Nov. 30), Saint Louis (Dec. 3), Harris-Stowe (Dec. 5) and Purdue Fort Wayne (Dec. 9). SEMO will take a mid-November trip to the "Lone Star State" to face Stephen F. Austin (Nov. 15) and Texas of the Big 12 (Nov. 17). The Redhawks will trek to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to play Mississippi Valley State (Nov. 26) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Nov. 27) at Southern Mississippi's Thanksgiving Tournament. SEMO concludes non-conference play with a trip to Cincinnati, Ohio, to take on Xavier Dec. 19.
 
The Redhawks 2021-22 schedule also includes 18 Ohio Valley Conference matchups, playing each conference institution twice. SEMO will open league play at Murray State after Christmas break on Dec. 30. The Redhawks then host Austin Peay on Jan. 1 to ring in 2022.
 
2020-21 Season Recap
SEMO finished with an overall record of 15-11 and posted a 13-7 conference mark in 2020-21. The Redhawks qualified for their sixth-straight OVC Tournament as the #3 seed this past season.
 
2020-21 All-OVC performers LaTrese Saine, the 2020-21 OVC Defensive Player of the Year, and Tesia Thompson graduated this past May.
 
Looking Ahead
After their trip to Texas, SEMO returns to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to host Arkansas State on Monday, Nov. 22. Game time is set for 5 p.m., CT at the Show Me Center.