NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Southeast Missouri women's basketball (4-10, 0-3 OVC) had three scorers in double-digits but it wasn't enough as they fell to Belmont (7-5, 3-0 OVC), the Ohio Valley Conference preseason favorite, 85-65, Thursday night at the Curb Event Center.
 
Shymaryia Christopher paced the Redhawks with 14 points; all scored in the second half. Deanay Watson and Jaliyah Green each added 10 points while Taelour Pruitt and Kennedi Watkins both finished with nine, respectively.
 
Destinee Wells, the 2021-22 OVC Preseason Player of the Year, led five Bruins in double-digits scoring with 21. Madison Bartley and Tessa Miller each tallied 14 while Tuti Jones and Conley Chinn both had 12.
 
With a 44-35 lead in hand, Belmont outscored the Redhawks, 27-15, in the third quarter to take a 71-50 advantage.
 
SEMO opened the game with consecutive treys by Watson and Green for a slight 6-2 lead early. Pruitt tallied a lay-up to push the edge to 10-6.
 
The Bruins then went on a 15-0 run to switch the lead to 21-10 in favor of Belmont.
 
The Redhawks responded with a rally of their own to conclude the opening frame with seven unanswered points.
 
Pruitt drove the lane and converted a bucket to cut the deficit to 24-16 with just under a minute left in the first quarter. Watkins then hit a second-chance basket to make the score 24-19.
 
SEMO tied the game at 24-24 on a fast break opportunity by Green at 8:51 in the second quarter. Watson hit a trey to open the period.
 
Watson was a career-best 3-for-4 from three-point range and 3-for-7 shooting from the field. She appeared in a game-high 31 minutes, adding three boards.
 
Belmont then recaptured the lead after a turnaround jumper by Madison Bartley capped a 6-0 run and made the game 37-29 Belmont at the 3:51 mark in the second frame.
 
Jones hit a 3-pointer with 5:17 left in the third quarter to make the Bruins lead 59-43.
 
Belmont capped off the third quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 71-50 edge into the final 10 minutes of play. Miller and Wells had consecutive layups before Bartley's bucket with 10 ticks left in the quarter.
 
The Bruins then took their largest lead of the evening, 81-58, on a triple by Jones with 4:12 remaining in regulation.
 
Christopher shot 5-for-7 including 5-for-6 in the second half.
 
Green shot 4-for-9 Thursday in her return to the starting five on her birthday. She last started for the Redhawks on Nov. 30 against Southern Illinois.
 
Pruitt and Watkins paced SEMO with five rebounds each. Pruitt divvied out a team best three assists and three steals.
 
Kori Tomlin added seven points with two assists and two rebounds in her fifth-straight start. She shot 3-for-5 on field goals including 50 percent from beyond the arc.
 
SEMO shot 43 percent from the field while the Bruins had a clip of .462. The Redhawks were 5-for-12 shooting from distance including 67 percent in the first quarter.
 
Belmont was 17-for-19 at the charity stripe.
 
SEMO cashed in a season-high 27 points off turnovers while Belmont led second chance points, 26-11.
 
The Redhawks next conclude their week in the Music City at Tennessee State Saturday. Tip-off is set for noon at the Gentry Center.