CHARLESTON, Ill. – Kennedi Watkins and Deanay Watson each notched double-double outings as Southeast Missouri women's basketball (4-15, 0-8 OVC) dropped a 68-44 road contest to Eastern Illinois (8-9, 3-3 OVC) Saturday afternoon at Lantz Arena.
 
Watkins, a freshman from Ballwin, Missouri, registered her first career double-double Saturday, finishing with 13 points with a personal high 11 rebounds and five steals. She shot 3-for-8 from the field and was 7-for-10 at the charity stripe in 32 minutes of court time.
 
Watkins has now tallied double-digits scoring in each of the past four SEMO games.
 
Watson added 10 points and 10 boards, coming off the bench, for her third career double-double. She shot 4-for-9 on field goals. 
 
Eastern Illinois took a 35-24 edge at halftime and distanced itself from the Redhawks with a 33-20 second half.
 
The Panthers went on a 9-0 run to increase their advantage to 47-26 with 7:26 remaining in the third quarter. Lariah Washington scored all nine points during the rally including consecutive three-pointers.
 
Washington finished with a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds after a 14-point third quarter where she shot 5-for-6 on field goals and 3-for-3 from distance.
 
She added another triple to make the score, 52-27, at 5:46 in the third period.
 
EIU took its largest lead of the day, 66-38, after an 8-0 run with 4:25 left to play Saturday.
 
Eastern Illinois led by 12 (35-23) after a three-pointer by Morgan Litwiller with 2:14 remaining in the second quarter.
 
The Panthers utilized a 6-0 run to pull ahead 24-14 with 6:10 left in the initial half. Jordyn Hughes drove the lane for the lay-up to conclude the rally.
 
The Redhawks responded with a 6-0 run of their own to cut the Panthers advantage to 24-20.  Watson hit a pair of lay-ups to bookend a jumper by Kori Tomlin during the sequence.
 
Watson led the Redhawks with nine points and four rebounds at the break.
 
Eastern Illinois opened the game with a 4-0 edge early that grew to 7-2 after a triple by Julia Bengtson.
 
Johné Stewart knocked down a jumper to bring the Panthers margin to one, 9-8, at 6:49 in the opening period.

Stewart made her second career start as a Redhawk Saturday. 
 
Watson and Halle Smith both added baskets to keep the EIU edge at one, 11-10, and then 13-12.
 
The Panthers concluded the first quarter with five unanswered points for a 18-12 lead heading to the second frame.
 
Jaliyah Green added nine points with a personal high eight rebounds and three boards Saturday. She was 3-for-4 on free throws.
 
Smith chipped in six points and four boards.
 
EIU shot 44 percent from the field including 50 percent in both the second and third quarters. The Redhawks finished with a rate of 29 percent and converted at 36 percent in the second quarter.
 
SEMO was 0-for-16 from distance shooting beyond the arc while the Panthers were 6-for-21 (29 percent).
 
EIU outscored the Redhawks, 38-28, in the paint and totaled 29 points off SEMO turnovers.
 
SEMO shot 67 percent at the charity stripe while EIU was a tad higher at a clip of 71 percent.
 
SEMO's 44 points Saturday are its lowest point total this season.
 
The Redhawks next host Morehead State and SIUE Jan. 27 and 29, respectively, at the Show Me Center. The Redhawks take on Morehead State, Thursday, Jan. 27 at 5 p.m., CT before facing SIUE Saturday, Jan. 29 at 2 p.m.