HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Five Redhawks finished in double-figures scoring as Southeast Missouri women's basketball (2-3) held off Mississippi Valley State's (0-4) late rally, 82-76, Friday afternoon to open Southern Mississippi's Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic at the Reed Green Coliseum.
 
Taelour Pruitt led the Redhawks offensively with 21 points and six assists in 37 minutes. Roshala Scott and Kennedi Watkins (personal best) each added 14. Deanay Watson chipped in 13 points and Halle Smith matched a personal-high 10 points for the second-straight game.
 
Watkins also hauled down eight rebounds with two steals and a block. The freshman forward from Ballwin, Missouri, shot 6-for-9 from the field.
 
Pruitt and Watson each tallied seven boards.
 
SEMO took its largest lead of the day, 44-27, at 7:48 in the third quarter and rebuilt that advantage to 70-53 with 7:24 left in regulation.
 
Scott knocked down a trey to open the third quarter before consecutive baskets by Scott and Watkins made it 44-27.
 
Scott led SEMO with seven points in the third quarter, shooting 2-for-5 including 1-for-3 on treys.
 
SEMO commenced the final quarter on a 10-0 rally to increase the Redhawks margin to 70-53.
 
The Delta Devilettes utilized a 14-2 run to pull within two of the Redhawks, 73-71, with 3:07 to play in the fourth.
 
MVSU outscored SEMO, 28-23, in the third stanza.
 
Kerrigan Johnson connected on a pair of 3-ptrs during the run and Annya Moss cut the deficit to 73-71 on a jumper.
 
MVSU benefited from eight SEMO turnovers in the fourth quarter, turning that into 12 points.
 
Scott notched three free throws and Watkins had a lay-up to push the edge to 78-71.
 
Scott and Shymaryia Christopher then added two more points each from the charity stripe to hold MVSU at bay, 82-73.
 
Christopher chipped in seven points and two rebounds.
 
Johnson completed a three-point play to conclude the game at 82-76. 
 
Mississippi Valley State opened the contest with a 5-0 edge after baskets by Mikayla Etienne.
 
Smith, who celebrated her 19th Birthday Thursday on Thanksgiving, cut the MVSU lead to 9-7 after a 3-pointer.
 
The freshman from Belle, Missouri, was 4-for-6 from the field and perfect on her lone three-point opportunity Friday. Smith also had a personal high five rebounds and three steals.
 
Pruitt then knotted the game at 9-9 and 12-12 with a pair of buckets.
 
SEMO concluded the opening frame on a 6-0 run to take a 21-17 advantage. Pruitt added two more baskets before Scott had a lay-up to finish the first quarter.
 
The Redhawks then grew their lead to 29-20 after an 8-0 rally. The Delta Devilettes were scoreless for five minutes during the stretch in the second quarter.
 
Pruitt then hit a triple right before the first half expired to make it a 37-25 Redhawks lead and wrap up a 6-0 run.

Diona Reed split her free throws followed by a fast-break bucket from Jaliyah Green before Pruitt's buzzer-beating 3-ptr to end the second quarter.
 
SEMO outscored MVSU 18-6 in the second frame.
 
Pruitt was 7-for-12 shooting from the field in the initial 20 minutes. She had 19 points at the break and surpassed 10 (11) after one quarter of action Friday.
 
Reed and Chandler Davis each appeared in their first career games at SEMO Friday. Reed finished with a point in three minutes. Davis competed in three minutes.
 
Scott made her first start of the 2021-22 season. She finished 3-for-10 on field goals and 7-for-9 on free throws with six boards, eight assists and two blocks.
 
SEMO had 11 steals Friday with Pruitt and Smith each having three. Watkins and Green posted two each.
 
The Redhawks shot 45 percent from the field as a team including 64 percent in the final quarter. MVSU finished with a clip of 40 percent and hit 52 percent in the third frame.
 
SEMO converted on 25 percent on 3-ptrs while the Delta Devilettes hit 32 percent.
 
The Redhawks were 19-for-27 (70 percent) at the charity stripe.
 
SEMO scored 40 points in the paint, 27 fast break points, 21 points off turnovers and 16 second chance points.
 
MVSU led bench points slightly, 19-18.
 
With the win, SEMO halted its losing streak at three games.
 
The Redhawks close their stay at the Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic Saturday morning at 9 a.m. versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-3). UAPB beat tournament host, Southern Miss (3-2), 76-57, in the Classic opener Friday.