HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southeast Missouri women's basketball (2-4) fell to Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2-3), 81-63, Saturday morning at the Reed Green Coliseum to split its pair of Southern Mississippi's Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic games.
 
Shymaryia Christopher led SEMO offensively with a career best 15 points with four rebounds in 24 minutes of action.
 
The redshirt-freshman guard from Magnolia, Arkansas, shot 4-for-8 from the field and was 7-of-10 at the free throw line.
 
Roshala Scott added 13 points with two steals for her third-straight double-digit point game in 2021-22 after posting 14 against both Arkansas State (Nov. 22) and Mississippi Valley State (Nov. 26).
 
Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the 2021 Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic Champions, had three scorers register 17 or more points. Joyce Kennerson had a game-high 20 points while Zaay Green, a Texas A&M transfer, added 19 and Sade Hudson finished with 17.
 
The Lady Lions outscored SEMO, 23-9, in the final quarter to widen the gap and secure the Southern Miss Tournament title.
 
UAPB went on a 10-0 run to increase its advantage to 68-57 with 7:37 remaining in regulation. Kennerson had eight points and two three-pointers during the sequence.
 
Deanay Watson cut the deficit to 68-59 with 6:38 left to play Saturday. She finished with seven points in 19 minutes of play.
 
The guard from Bradenton, Florida, was a perfect 3-for-3 shooting and 1-for-1 at the charity stripe.
 
Jaliyah Green added a bucket to make it a 10-point game (71-61) at 5:27.
 
The Lady Lions closed the game on a 7-0 rally for their biggest lead of the day, 81-63.
 
UAPB opened the game with six unanswered points. SEMO responded with an 11-0 run to pull ahead 12-8.
 
Jaliyah Green hit a jumper to shift the lead to 9-8 at 6:17 in the opening quarter.
 
Halle Smith then connected on a triple to provide the Redhawks a slight 21-19 edge to finish the first stanza.
 
Smith was perfect from three-point range (1-for-1) and 50 percent from the field, finishing with a personal best seven boards and six points.
 
SEMO shot a game high 46 percent clip in the first quarter.
 
The Lady Lions extended their lead to 25-23 after a 6-0 run. Hudson knocked down a triple at 8:14 in the second half to conclude the span.
 
Hudson and Kennerson hit consecutive 3-ptrs to make the score 31-16.
 
Scott floated in a lay-up before a jumper from Christopher pushed the Redhawks ahead 34-33 with 56 seconds left in the half.
 
Christopher had 13 points at halftime, going 3-for-5 in the field and 7-for-8 on free throws.
 
Smith added a jumper to knot the game at 36-36 before Khadijah Brown split a pair of free throws to give UAPB a one-point edge.
 
Scott then sunk a pair of triples on consecutive SEMO offensive possessions to shift the lead to 44-39 at the 8:20 mark in the third frame.
 
Taelour Pruitt registered a bucket to increase the Redhawks margin to 49-45 with 6:07 left in the third.
 
UAPB clawed back with an 8-0 run to retake the lead 53-49.
 
With SEMO leading 54-53 after a free throw by Kennedi Watkins, the Lady Lions closed the third quarter on a 5-0 run (58-54) to set the stage for the final period.
 
Watkins chipped in eight points and six rebounds with a steal in 22 minutes. Pruitt and Jaliyah Green each had five points.
 
Pruitt also dished out five assists with two blocks and Green had four assists.
 
Diona Reed played in her second career game as a Redhawk, finishing with a personal best two points in 10 minutes with two rebounds and two blocks.
 
UAPB outshot SEMO, 38 percent to 34 percent, including a 50 percent fourth quarter.
 
The Lady Lions converted at a 46 percent rate from three-point range compared to SEMO's 27 percent.
 
The Redhawks were 17-for-23 from the charity stripe while UAPB was 63 percent on free throws. SEMO was 5-for-6 in the second quarter and 3-for-4 (75 percent) in the fourth quarter.
 
The Lady Lions cashed in on 21 points of SEMO turnovers.
 
SEMO's bench outscored UAPB, 25-12.
 
Saturday's morning contest featured 14 lead changes and four ties.
 
SEMO returns home to host Southern Illinois, Saint Louis and Harris-Stowe this upcoming week. The Redhawks face regional rival SIU Tuesday, Nov. 30 at 6:30 p.m., CT at the Show Me Center. SEMO then takes on Saint Louis Dec. 3 (6:30 p.m.) and Harris-Stowe Dec. 5 (2 p.m.)