CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Four Redhawks finished in double-digits scoring as Southeast Missouri women's basketball (1-0) overcame the University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy (1-2), 60-48, Monday at the Show Me Center.
 
Kiyley Flowers and Kennedi Watkins led the Redhawks with 11 points each while Rahmena Henderson and Kori Tomlin each chipped in 10 in SEMO's annual Classroom on the Court game in front of 2,225 fans Monday. 
 
Flowers also registered four rebounds, four steals, and an assist, while going 3-for-4 from three-point range in her Redhawks debut. 
 
Watkins, a 2022-23 Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference Selection, hauled down seven boards to pace the Redhawks to go with two steals and a block while shooting 40 percent. 
 
SEMO jumped out to a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the contest Monday.
 
Tomlin would add a triple at 4:59 in the opening quarter to make the SEMO lead 10-6. 
 
The Eutectics would trim the advantage to two (10-8 and then 14-12) after baskets from Elizabeth Allanach before Flowers added a lay-up with 24 seconds left in the quarter to put the SEMO margin at 16-12.
 
UHSP and the Redhawks then exchanged, 20-5, second and third, quarters, respectively.
 
The Eutectics utilized a 16-0 scoring run to pull ahead 28-16 in the second stanza and would take a 32-31 lead at halftime. 
 
UHSP shot 58.3 percent during the second quarter. 
 
Grace Beyer paced the Eutectics with 23 points in the opening half and shot 8-for-15 from the field during the half. She finished with a game-high 35 points with seven rebounds, shooting 9-for-25 and 16-for-18 at the charity stripe. 
 
Out of the break, SEMO then went on a 14-0 scoring run to switch the lead in favor of the home team, 41-35. The Redhawk were 8-for-17 (47 percent) in the third quarter shooting including 75 percent from beyond the arc. 
 
Flowers hit a triple before consecutive buckets by Sophie Bussard cut the deficit to 35-34 at 4:10 in the third. Bussard would add another basket before Henderson hit a trey to regrow the SEMO edge to 41-35.
 
Bussard made her return to the hardwood after suffering a season-ending injury prior to the 2021-22 campaign. The Silver Lake, Indiana, redshirt junior guard, 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. 
 
SEMO would then have a 41-37 edge after three quarters. 
 
The Eutectics answered and cut the margin to a basket (49-47) with 4:33 left in regulation.
 
Henderson knocked down her second three-pointer of the day before a lay-up from Watkins made the score 56-47. 
 
Henderson, a junior Kilgore College transfer from Neptune, New Jersey, made her first career start at SEMO, shooting 4-for-14 (2-for-4 on threes) with five rebounds, three steals, a block, and an assist for 10 points in a team-high 34 minutes. 
 
SEMO would wrap the game on an 11-1 run and took its largest lead of the day, 60-48, after a basket by Tomlin with 13 ticks remaining in regulation. 
 
The Redhawks shot 37 percent from the field including 44 percent during the second half while UHSP had a rate of 13.3 percent in the final 20 minutes. 
 
SEMO posted 19 steals including 12 in the second half. The Redhawks also shot 50 percent from distance. 
 
Tomlin dished out a game-high four assists with three steals to complement her 10 points in 31 minutes of court time. She was 4-for-6 from the field and 2-for-3 on three-pointers. 
 
Halle Smith totaled five points including a three-pointer to go with three rebounds in the start. 
 
Jaliyah Green forced a team-high four steals with two rebounds in the start. 
 
Six SEMO student-athletes made their Redhawk debuts in the season opener including freshman Alecia Doyle who was also featured in the Starting Five with Henderson. 
 
Doyle, a Herrin, Illinois, native, tallied five points (2-for-10) with five boards, two assists, and a steal in 22 minutes. 
 
Tamia Stallings, one of SEMO's three captains in 2022-23 with Tomlin and Bussard, grabbed a pair of rebounds with a block. 
 
Tyra Brown and Julia Sion also made their SEMO debuts in the win. 
 
The Redhawks next face Southeastern Conference (SEC) opponents Ole Miss and Missouri this week on the road, Thursday, and Sunday, respectively. Thursday's game at Ole Miss is slated for a 7 p.m., CT tip at the SJB Pavilion in Oxford, Mississippi.