CINCINNATI – Southeast Missouri women's basketball (4-7, 0-0 OVC) dropped a hard fought battle at the BIG EAST's Xavier (5-6, 0-2 BIG EAST), 65-58, Sunday at the Cintas Center.
 
Shymaryia Christopher paced the Redhawks with a career-best matching 15 points with five rebounds. Taelour Pruitt chipped in 11 points with four rebounds and three steals.
 
Deanay Watson hauled down a team-high 10 boards in a career-best 37 minutes and Halle Smith added a career-best matching eight with seven points and two blocks in 36 minutes of court time.
 
SEMO led the Musketeers, 48-40, after the third quarter before Xavier rallied back and claimed the victory with a 25-10 final frame.
 
The Redhawks were held scoreless for over three and a half minutes in the fourth quarter.
 
The Musketeers opened the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run. Shaila Beeler cut the SEMO edge to 48-46 after a basket with 8:24 left in regulation.
 
Kori Tomlin then hit a triple to regrow the Redhawks advantage to 51-46.
 
Nia Clark then shifted the lead to the Musketeers, 53-52, with a 3-ptr at the 5:46 mark.
 
Pruitt split a pair of free throws for SEMO's final lead of the day, 55-54.
 
Xavier would then secure the win, closing the game on an 11-3 run.
 
Ayanna Townsend registered consecutive jumpers to commence a 9-0 rally and provide the Musketeers their largest lead of the day, 63-55.
 
Pruitt tallied a trey to cut the deficit to 63-58 with 20 ticks left in regulation.
 
SEMO and Xavier were tied at 11-11 after one quarter and 25-25 at halftime. Sunday's contest featured 10 ties and 11 lead changes.
 
Smith notched a block before posting a lay-up in the offensive end to provide the Redhawks an early 2-0 lead.
 
SEMO utilized an 8-0 run to further itself from Xavier, 11-8. Roshala Scott hit a jumper in the paint to pull the Redhawks ahead 9-8 before Chandler Davis notched a bucket during the sequence.
 
Beeler tied the contest at 11-11 with a basket with just under a minute left in the first quarter.
 
Christopher completed a three-point play to make the scoreboard read 15-13.
 
Clark then scored six points for Xavier including a 3-ptr to provide the Musketeers a 21-19 margin.
 
Pruitt then retied the game at 25-25 with a jumper at 1:05 in the second quarter.
 
She then looked to put the Redhawks up 28-25 with a buzzer beater but it was waved off. Pruitt secured a steal before driving outside the arc and launching a shot right after time expired. 
 
SEMO then outscored Musketeers 23-15 in the third quarter to take an eight-point lead (48-40) into the final stanza.
 
Christopher scored 10 of her 15 points in the third quarter alone, shooting 5-for-7 from the field. She finished Sunday 7-for-12.
 
The Redhawks started the third quarter on an 8-0 run to widen the gap to 33-25.
 
Satterfield hit a jumper to cut the SEMO lead to 33-30 and added another bucket in the paint to pull within one (35-34).
 
Christopher added two more buckets to provide some breathing room, 44-36, with 2:36 left in the third quarter.

Tomlin then posted a jumper to regrow the edge to 48-40. She finished with eight points, four rebounds and three assists in her second career start.
 
Roshala Scott posted nine points, six rebounds, six assists and a steal in 36 minutes on her birthday.
 
SEMO shot 61 percent in the third quarter and finished the non-conference game with a mark of 37 percent.
 
Xavier in comparison shot 35 percent from the field and concluded the contest with 7-for-13 in the fourth quarter.
 
The Musketeers also benefited from a 10-for-12 stint at the charity stripe in the final frame and were 86 percent in the second half on free throws.
 
SEMO outscored Xavier in the paint, 34-30. The Musketeers capitalized on 19 points off turnovers.
 
The Redhawks bench also held a 15-1 advantage in points.
 
Four Musketeers finished in double-figures scoring led by Townsend who finished with 18 points, 15 boards and three blocks. Satterfield added 17 points with 12 rebounds followed by Clark (16) and Beeler (10).
 
SEMO next opens its 2021-22 OVC slate at Murray State on Thursday, Dec. 30. Tip is set for 5 p.m., CT at the CFSB Center. The Redhawks then return home and ring in 2022 against Austin Peay on Saturday, Jan. 1. First tip is 2 p.m. at the Show Me Center.