Game #9
Southeast Missouri (3-5)
vs. Western Illinois (2-5)
Game Information
Date: Wednesday, December 7, 2022 
Tip-off: 5:00 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo. 
Arena: Show-Me Center
Series: Series is tied at 7-7 
Last Meeting: SEMO won 67-57 | Dec. 11, 2020 | Cape Girardeau, Mo. 
Head Coaches: Rekha Patterson (104-112, Eighth Season at SEMO);
J.D. Gravina (170-161, 12^th season at Western Illinois)
Video:  ESPN+
Radio:  SEMO Radio (Erik Sean)
Live Stats: Live Stats
 
Follow the Redhawks
Twitter: @OfficialSEMOWBB  
2022-23 Women's Basketball Stats (PDF)
 
Redhawks Set To Host Western Illinois Wednesday To Continue Non-Conference Play
Southeast Missouri women's basketball (3-5) will play the Western Illinois Leathernecks (2-5) on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022 at the Show-Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m., CT. 
 
Holidays At The Show-Me Center
Wednesday's contest marks the annual SEMO Redhawks Holiday Doubleheader celebration put on by the SEMO Athletic Department and the Show-Me Center. Included in the celebration are pregame pictures with Santa on the concourse, the 'Happy Slapowitz Teddy Toss' at halftime of the men's game (7 p.m.) and in between games enjoy live music from Cape Girardeau's Joy Brooker. Doors open at 4 p.m. 
 
Series History
The Redhawks and Leathernecks have matched up 14-times in the schools' history and are deadlocked at seven games apiece. The last time these two faced-off resulted in a 67-57 SEMO victory on Dec. 11, 2020 in Cape Girardeau. 
 
LaTrese Saine scored 16 points in helping the Redhaws secure the 10-point victory in front of the Show-Me Center crowd as four other SEMO starters registered double-digit points. 
 
Taelour Pruitt (13 points), Tesia Thompson (11 points), and Sophie Bussard (11 points) all got into the double-digit scoring column as the Redhawks cruised to the win (2-2). 
 
Scouting the Opponent
The Leathernecks (2-5) come in to Wednesday's matchup with SEMO coming off a dominant victory over Division-III member Eureka College, 86-54. Lily Randgaard led the Leathernecks in scoring with 12 points in the category, going 5-7 from the field and shooting 50-percent from the three-point line (1-2). WIU grabbed a season-high 58 rebounds in the contest as they secured their second victory of the season.
 
Leading WIU in scoring is Redshirt Junior guard Jada Thorpe. Thorpe registered a season-high in points with 19 against Southern Indiana (11/11) going an impressive 14-15 from the charity stripe in the contest. Thorpe is currently averaging 11.4 points per game and has 80 total points on the season.
 
As a team, the Leathernecks are shooting .352 from the field and .267 from behind the arc on the season.
 
Redhawks Beat Rust College, Fall to Kansas To Conclude The Week
SEMO started the week off with a victory over Rust College (12/1) by a final score of 63-60 behind Rahmena Henderson's 16-points. 
 
Her stat line included 16 points, nine rebounds, and an assist to register SEMO's third win of the season. 
 
SEMO trailed late in the fourth quarter (60-59) before Henderson took a hard foul and finished through contact to give the Redhawks a one-point advantage. 
 
She would hit the free throw to extend the lead  to 62-60 Redhawks. Rust would miss thier chance following the foul, as Henderson would ice the game with a final free throw giving SEMO the three-point victory. 
 
SEMO shot 41.4 percent (24-58) from the field while going 6-18 (33%) from three-point land. Sophie Bussard added in 15 points, while Kennedi Watkins scored 13 in route to the SEMO victory. 
 
On Sunday, Halle Smith matched a career-high 18 points and had a game-high eight rebounds as Southeast Missouri (3-5) dropped an 88-51 decision to Big 12 Conference member Kansas (7-0) at Allen Fieldhouse. 
 
Smith scored 16 of her points in the second half finishing with 18 in a game for the second time in her career. 
 
SEMO missed six of its first seven shots and KU hit 72 percent from the field in the opening seven minutes of play. 
 
The Jayhawks put together a 22-2 run to get early momentum and never relinquished the lead. 
 
SEMO scored eight-straight points near the end of the second period with a pair of free throws from Halle Smith and a 3-pointer from both Sophie Bussard and Jaliyah Green. 
 
In the third quarter, Smith led the way with six points, while Green and and Kennedi Watkins added four apiece.
 
 
SEMO won the final quarter by a score of 17-14 over the Jayhawks behind Smith's 16 second half points. 
 
Smith went 6-for-16 and a near perfect 5-of-6 from the charity stripe as she was SEMO's lone double-digit scorer. Kennedi Watkins had four points and snatched seven rebounds to lead SEMO in the category. Sophomore Jaliyah Green added nine points of her own as KU took the game, 88-51.
 
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.
 
2022-2023 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
SEMO will return to the court on Sunday, December 18, when they head to Evansville, Ind. To take on the Evansville Purple Aces. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m., CT at the Ford Center.