CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Karle Pace led a trio of Governors in double-figures scoring as Southeast Missouri women's basketball (5-19, 1-12 OVC) fell to Austin Peay (16-6, 9-3 OVC), 79-38, Thursday at the Winfield Dunn Center.
 
Pace paced Austin Peay with a game-high 17 points followed by Yamia Johnson (16 points) and Ella Sawyer (12 points).
 
Taelour Pruitt led SEMO with 13 points in her 100th career game as a Redhawk. The senior from Crowley, Texas, shot 5-for-13 from the field including 3-for-9 from distance with three rebounds and a steal in a game-high 33 minutes. 
 
Austin Peay jumped out to an 8-1 lead Thursday. 
 
Halle Smith completed a three-point play to cut the margin in half with 5:12 left in the first quarter.
 
The Governors concluded the first frame on a 12-2 run to take a 20-6 advantage. The Redhawks committed 10 turnovers in the opening quarter. 
 
Austin Peay grabbed its largest lead of the first half, 30-9, after a three-pointer by Pace at 6:45 in the second quarter. 
 
SEMO once again cut the deficit in half, this time with consecutive triples by Kori Tomlin and Pruitt, to make the score 30-15 with 4:12 left in the opening half.
 
Pruitt added a lay-up to push the Redhawks run to 8-0. 
 
The Govs took a 36-19 lead to the locker room for halftime. 
 
APSU kept their foot on the gas and commenced the third quarter on an 11-0 run to widen the gap to 47-19. The rally prolonged a 13-0 run. 
 
Pruitt knocked down a deep three to make the score 50-22 at the 5:20 mark in the third. 
 
The Govs outscored SEMO, 23-6, in the third quarter and 43-19 in the second half. 
 
The Redhawks commenced the final quarter with back-to-back buckets by Pruitt and Deanay Watson to make the scoreboard read 59-29 Austin Peay with 8:54 to go. 
 
Watson finished Thursday with seven points and four boards, shooting 3-for-7 from the field. 
 
APSU took its largest lead of the day, 79-35, after a three-pointer by Shay-Lee Kirby with 53 seconds left in regulation. 
 
The Governors outshot SEMO, 45 percent to 27.7 percent. Austin Peay finished the game with a 50 percent clip in the fourth quarter. 
 
The Govs also shot 45 percent from three-point land. 
 
APSU outrebounded the Redhawks, 49-24, and forced 23 SEMO turnovers. 
 
Austin Peay also led points in the paint (32-16), points off turnovers (24-13), second chance points (18-7) and bench points (35-12).
 
Kennedi Watkins grabbed a team-high five rebounds with four points and two blocks. 
 
Johné Stewart paced SEMO with two steals to complement four points, three rebounds and an assist. 
 
Chandler Davis made her second-straight start. 
 
Lyric Cole grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for APSU. 
 
For SEMO, the 38 points is a season low total along with the field goal rate of 13-for-47, 24 rebounds and six assists. 
 
SEMO Assistant Coach David Midlick made his return to Austin Peay for the first time since serving as the Governors head coach from 2015 to 2021.
 
The Redhawks next return to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Saturday to host Belmont. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m., CT at the Show Me Center.