Game #7
Southeast Missouri (2-4)
vs. Rust College (3-2) 
Game Information
Date: Thursday, December 1, 2022 
Tip-off: 6:30 p.m., CT 
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo. 
Arena: Show-Me Center
Series: Series is tied at 1-1 
Last Meeting: SEMO won 93-51 | Jan. 15, 1986 | Cape Girardeau, Mo. 
Head Coaches: Rekha Patterson (103-111, Eighth Season at SEMO);
Eric Jackson, Jr. (59-26, Fourth Season at Rust College)
Video: ESPN+
Radio: SEMOESPN 93.5 FM & 1220 AM (Erik Sean)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
Game #8
Southeast Missouri (2-4)
vs. Kansas (5-0) 
Game Information
Date: Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022 
Tip-off: 2:00 p.m., CT
Location: Lawrence, Kan. 
Arena: Allen Fieldhouse
Series: KU leads 2-0
Last Meeting: Kansas won 51-50 | Dec. 10, 2017 | Lawrence, Kan. 
Head Coaches: Rekha Patterson (103-111, Eighth Season at SEMO);
Brandon Schneider (82-125, Eighth Season at Kansas)
Video: ESPN+
Radio: SEMOESPN 93.5 FM & 1220 AM (Rusty Hendricks)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
Follow the Redhawks
Twitter: @OfficialSEMOWBB  
SEMO 2022-23 Stats
 
SEMO Hosts Rust College Thursday Before Heading to Kansas Sunday
Southeast Missouri women's basketball (2-4) will play two games this week starting with Thursday, Dec. 1, when they host NAIA-member Rust College (3-2) at 6:30 p.m., CT. in Cape Girardeau. The Redhawks will head back out on the road for a Sunday afternoon contest versus Big 12 Conference member, Kansas. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m., CT. at Allen Fieldhouse. 
 
Series History
Rust College
Thursday's contest will mark the third time the Redhawks and Lady Bearcats have faced off on the court, splitting the previous two matchups. The last matchup between the two schools resulted in a Redhawks victory, with SEMO winning the game 93-51 on January 15, 1986 in Cape Girardeau. 
 
Kansas
Kansas won the last meeting between these schools by a single-point, 51-50, on December 10, 2017. Ashton Luttrull led SEMO with 15 points in the contest, while collecting five rebounds. At the historic Allen Fieldhouse, the Redhawks led by as much as seven, late in the 3^rd quarter. Sunday marks the third time overall that these two schools have met on the hardwood and the third time in Lawrence, Kan. 
 
Scouting The Opponents
Rust College
The Rust College Lady Bearcats (3-2) are coming off a victory over Texas A&M-Texarkana by a final score of 86-81 on Tuesday, Nov. 22, in their second matchup with the Eagles in four days (Nov. 18 & Nov. 22). 
 
Rust shot 44% from the field for the matchup (27-62) while also going 43% from behind the arc (9-21). 
 
India Green and Ahmari Young led the Bearcats in scoring, chipping in 15 points each. 
 
The power forward, shooting guard combo are third and fourth on the team in scoring with 8.5 and 8.0 points per game, respectively. 
 
The Bearcats controlled the glass as well, collecting 47 rebounds (TAMUT 24 rebounds) and recorded 19 second-chance points. 
 
Katie Blackmon grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, and added 10 points for the Lady Bearcats. 
 
Thursday's game with SEMO will mark Rust's second and final exhibition matchup of the season, the first coming on November 1 in Memphis, Tenn. Rust lost 84-51 at the hands of American Athletic Conference member Memphis. 
 
Kansas
The Kansas Jayhawks are currently on a five game winning streak, and sit at 5-0 thus far in the 2022-23 campaign. 
 
Most recently, KU defeated Maine (Nov. 25) and St. Mary's (Nov 26) at the Saint Mary's Thanksgiving Classic in Moraga, California. 
 
Taiyanna Jackson set a career-high with 24 points and 10 rebounds to take down the Gaels by 20 (73-53) to pick up the Jayhawks' fifth win of the season. 
 
The stat line was Jackson's third double-double of the season (seventh of career) while also adding in five blocked shots, two assists, and one steal. 
 
Zakiyah Franklin added 15 points and six rebounds, while Holly Kersgieter added in 11 of her own to go along with eight rebounds. She also registered a career-high in steals with five. 
 
The Jayhawks will face-off with Texas A&M on Wednesday, Nov. 30, in Lawrence, Kansas before taking on the Redhawks on Sunday (Dec. 4). 
 
Last Time Out
SEMO women's basketball returns home following a two-game stint where they competed in the UCF Thanksgiving Classic in Orlando, Fla. 
 
Rhode Island
The Redhawks began the tournament squaring off with the Atlantic 10's Rhode Island on Saturday, Nov. 26.  SEMO dropped the contest by a final score of 66-49. 
 
Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference selection Kennedi Watkins scored a career-high with 21 points, going 8-for-9 in the contest. Watkins has now scored in double-figures for eight straight games, dating back to the 2021-22 campaign. 
 
Rhode Island, who was picked to finish third in the A-10 in this year's preseason poll, took an early 7-2 lead before the Redhawks went on a 12-0 run to double its advantage (14-7) at 4:07 in the opening period.
 
Rhode Island concluded the first quarter on a 7-0 sequence for an 18-15 edge. 
 
SEMO shot a game-high 67 percent in the first quarter to finish with a rate of 35 percent. The Rams in comparison were 61.5 percent out of the gates, wrapping the non-conference meeting at 44 percent.
 
At the half, the Rams led 30-26. 
 
Kennedi Watkins had 12 points at the halftime break, going a perfect 4-for-4 in the first quarter.
 
In the third quarter, Kiley Flowers and Rahmena Henderson connected on consecutive buckets to cut the deficit to 37-35.
 
Watkins then made both of her free throw opportunities before capitalizing on a steal in transition to even the game at 39-39 with 5:10 to play in the third frame. 
 
SEMO then pulled ahead 42-30 at 3:35 in the third as part of a 7-0 run. 
 
URI concluded the third quarter on a 15-1 rally for a 54-43 lead heading to the fourth. The Rams were 50 percent shooting during the quarter. 
 
Rhode Island then took its largest lead of the day, 64-47, with 3:11 remaining in regulation. 
 
Halle Smith, who celebrated her 20th Birthday on Friday, chipped in nine points against the Rams Saturday with three boards. The sophomore from Belle, Missouri, shot 3-for-7 from the field including 2-for-3 from distance.
 
Kiley Flowers chipped in seven points (3-for-8) with four rebounds and a pair of steals. Henderson finished with six points, a team-high nine boards and two steals in 33 minutes.
 
Central Florida
Sophie Bussard notched a team-high 10 points while Alecia Doyle chipped in a career-best nine as Southeast Missouri women's basketball (2-4) fell to tournament host, Central Florida (5-0), 67-41, to cap the UCF Thanksgiving Classic Sunday afternoon at Addition Financial Arena. 
 
Bussard shot 4-for-7 from the floor with a trio of rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
 
Doyle, a freshman from Herrin, Illinois, was 3-for-11 on field goals with two rebounds and an assist. She was 3-for-3 at the charity stripe in a personal-best 30 minutes.
The Knights commenced the game, scoring five-straight points before the Redhawks answered with a 7-0 run to take a 7-5 lead at 6:59 in the opening quarter. 
 
Kiyley Flowers nailed a three-pointer to even the game at 5-5 before a jumper by Doyle provided the Redhawks a slight edge. 
 
UCF then went on an 8-0 run (13-7) and headed to the second period up 15-8.
 
In the second quarter, the Knights grew their lead to 25-8 with a 12-0 run. Bussard trimmed the margin in half with a second chance bucket before hitting a triple at 1:08 remaining in the stanza to decrease the UCF lead to 30-18.
 
The Knights then outscored the Redhawks, 35-20, in the second half including 16-4 in the fourth quarter for the win. UCF shot 38 percent in the final half including 40 percent in the third period. 
 
SEMO in comparison had a game-high 35.3 percent in the third quarter and went on a 7-0 run to bring the UCF lead to less than 10 (46-37) with 86 seconds left in the frame. 
 
The Knights took their largest lead of the day, 67-39, after a basket by Bryana Hardy with 2:41 left in regulation.  
 
SEMO finished 15-for-62 shooting and only made two triples (2-for-12). The Redhawks converted at a rate of 82 percent from the charity stripe.
 
Redhawks Down LeMoyne-Owen to Improve to 2-0 at Home
Sophie Bussard scored 15 points and Jaliyah Green added 10 to lead SEMO to a commanding 76-45 win over LeMoyne-Owen College Nov. 18 at the Show Me Center.
 
Bussard shot 6-of-10 from the field to go with four rebounds and three assists. She made her second start of the 2022-23 campaign and was also 2-for-3 from the charity stripe.
 
Green made three field goals and went 4-of-6 at the free throw line. She pulled down five rebounds and dished out four assists, as well. Tamia Stallings and Julia Sion each paved the way with a career best (at SEMO) seven rebounds. 
 
Kennedi Watkins compiled 11 points, going 5-for-8 from the field with a pair of boards. She has now finished in double-digits in seven-straight games dating back to the 2021-22 season. 
 
Kiyley Flowers finished with a career best (at SEMO) six assists to go with five rebounds and three steals. SEMO assisted on all but seven of its made field goals. Offensively, Flowers posted three points in her third-straight start as a Redhawk. This season, Flowers has posted three or more steals in each of the four Redhawk games to commence the season. 
 
Chandler Davis added a season-best six points (2-for-4).
 
Alecia Doyle posted a career-best matching six points. Doyle shot 3-for-6 from the field and also grabbed a pair of rebounds in the victory. Doyle has now scored six points in each of the last three games for the Redhawks. She made her second career start as a Redhawk against LeMoyne-Owen.
 
Welcome Back Sophie Bussard!!
Redshirt junior Sophie Bussard returned to the hardwood Nov. 7 after suffering a season-ending injury prior to the 2021-22 campaign. The Silver Lake, Indiana, native, started in all 26 games as a sophomore in 2020-21 and was fourth on the Redhawks with 230 points (8.8 points/game) while leading the conference in court time.
 
Against UHSP, Bussard totaled eight points with six rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench. Bussard also recorded an assist, a block, and a steal in the contest while shooting 3-for-7.
 
She has started the last two Redhawk games and competed in all four games this season. 
 
Redhawk Debuts
Six Redhawks made their program debuts over the opening week. Rahmena Henderson and Kiyley Flowers both made two starts over the three games while Alecia Doyle and Tamia Stallings each had a start. 
 
Stallings finished with a SEMO career-best nine points in her second career game as Redhawk, going 4-for-7 from the field with four rebounds, two assists and two steals at Ole Miss on Nov. 10. 
 
Flowers led SEMO at Missouri Nov. 13 with a career-high (at SEMO) eight rebounds, five steals, and a trio of assists in 25 minutes. She also had 11 points against UHSP (Nov. 7) and eight at Ole Miss (Nov. 10).
 
Tykara Harrison and Julia Sion also all saw action over the three games. 
 
New Faces
Six SEMO student-athletes made their Redhawk debuts in the season opener Nov. 7 against University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy including freshman Alecia Doyle and junior Rahmena Henderson who were both featured in the Starting Five. 
 
Doyle, a Herrin, Illinois, native, tallied five points (2-for-10) with five boards, two assists, and a steal in 22 minutes. 
 
Tamia Stallings grabbed a pair of rebounds with a block. 
 
Tyra Brown, Julia Sion and Kiyley Flowers also made their SEMO debuts in the win.
 
Oh Captains, My Captains
Head coach Rekha Patterson announced on October 31, Kori Tomlin, Sophie Bussard, and Tamia Stallings were selected as team captains for the 2022-23 season. This year is the first for the trio in the leadership roles. 
 
Watkins Named to 2022-23 Preseason All-OVC Team
Sophomore forward Kennedi Watkins was named to the 2022-23 Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference Women's Basketball Team, the league announced Oct. 18.
 
For Watkins, a Ballwin, Missouri, native, the preseason OVC honor is the first in her career.
 
She was named OVC Freshman of the Week twice during the 2021-22 season and was fourth on the team offensively with 207 points (8.3ppg). Watkins led SEMO with 17 blocks and competed in 25 games with 13 starts as a true freshman. She hauled down 138 rebounds (5.5rpg) with 32 steals. Watkins shot .446 from the field and finished in double-figures scoring 12 times and had double-digit rebounds twice. She registered a career-high 14 points on three occasions in 2021-22 including both conference games against SIUE. In OVC contests, Watkins averaged 8.8 points with 5.3 boards. 
 
Redhawks Eighth in OVC Preseason Poll
Southeast Missouri was selected to finish the season eighth in the OVC with 61 total points.
 
Tennessee Tech was picked to finish first overall in the league in 2022-23. The Golden Eagles earned 11 first place votes for 147 total points and had three players listed on the preseason team in Jada Guinn, Jordan Brock, and Anna Walker. TTU notched a 21-11 overall mark (14-4 OVC) in 2021-22 and finished as the OVC Tournament Runners-up to Belmont. The Golden Eagles competed in two rounds of the 2022 WNIT Tournament. 
 
Lariah Washington of Eastern Illinois was named the 2022-23 Preseason OVC Player of the Year.
  
 
Team Makeup
The Redhawks return four starters from the 2021-22 season in senior guard Kori Tomlin along with sophomores Kennedi Watkins, Halle Smith, and Jaliyah Green.
 
The trio of Watkins, Smith, and Green combined for five OVC Freshman of the Week honors last season.
 
Other returners from the 2021-22 squad include redshirt junior Sophie Bussard, Chandler Davis, Julia Sion, Michaela Mayfield, and Diona Reed. 
 
Sion will make her Redhawks debut after transferring to SEMO midseason (Jan. 2022) from North Alabama.
 
The Redhawks also added five newcomers including three transfers in Tamia Stallings from Alabama State, Rahmena Henderson from Kilgore College, and Kiyley Flowers from Grand Canyon.
 
The roster also features a pair of freshmen in Tykara Harrison and Alecia Doyle.
 
Head coach Rekha Patterson returns for her eighth season at the helm of the program.
 
SEMO went 6-23 in 2021-22 with a 2-16 OVC mark. 
 
2022-23 Schedule
The Redhawks will compete in 29 total games including 14 at the Show Me Center this season. 
 
SEMO's non-conference schedule features 11 games including five home matchups starting against UHSP (Nov.7), followed by LeMoyne-Owen College (Nov. 18), Rust College (Dec. 1), Western Illinois (Dec. 7) and Illinois-Chicago (Dec. 20). 
 
The Redhawks take a trip to Oxford, Mississippi, on Nov. 10 to take on Ole Miss for their first road contest, before continuing the week at Missouri (Nov. 13). 
 
SEMO celebrates Thanksgiving at UCF's (Central Florida) Tournament Nov. 26-27 in Orlando, Florida, playing Rhode Island and UCF. 
 
Following that trip, SEMO will face Kansas (Dec. 4) and Evansville (Dec. 18).
 
The Redhawks will then play an 18-game double round-robin OVC schedule, starting at Southern Indiana on Dec. 29.
 
Looking Ahead
The Redhawks will be back in action following their road trip to Kansas on Wednesday, Dec. 7, when they take on Western Illinois. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m., CT. at the Show-Me Center in Cape Girardeau.