MARTIN, Tenn. – Taelour Pruitt notched 16 points and Deanay Watson had a double-double outing of 15 points and 10 rebounds as Southeast Missouri women's basketball (5-17, 1-10 OVC) fell at UT Martin (6-14, 3-6 OVC), 70-66, Thursday afternoon at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
 
Pruitt shot 4-for-8 from the field including 4-for-7 from beyond the arc with five rebounds and four steals Thursday. She was also 4-for-6 at the charity stripe.
 
Watson converted 6-for-11 in a game-high 35 minutes for her fourth double-double of the 2021-22 campaign.
 
Pruitt and Watson combined for 18 points (11 and seven, respectively) in the third quarter to set the table for the decisive final period. Pruitt was 3-for-4 on three-pointers while Watson was a perfect 3-for-3 shooting during the quarter.
 
With the game tied at 50-50, UTM outscored SEMO, 20-16, in the final quarter Thursday to seal the Skyhawks win.
 
Three-straight baskets from Shae Littleford, Shanice Simpson-Whiteley and Hayley Harrison pushed the UTM edge to 59-52 with 7:06 left in regulation.
 
SEMO responded with consecutive jumpers by Roshala Scott and Watson to cut the deficit to 61-58 at 5:26.
 
Pruitt split a pair of free throws after another basket by Scott to make it a two-point game (63-61) with 4:11.
 
Scott scored all six of her points in the fourth quarter, shooting 50 percent to conclude the game. She also had five boards and six assists.
 
The Skyhawks then regrew their advantage to 68-61 before SEMO clawed within 68-66 after back-to-back buckets by Johné Stewart.
 
Stewart finished with four points, all scored in the fourth quarter, with a career-best matching six assists and three boards.
 
Kyannah Grant hit both of her free throws to wrap up the game and keep SEMO at bay.
 
SEMO jumped out to a 7-2 lead early after seven-straight points to open the contest. Pruitt knocked down a triple before baskets by Kennedi Watkins and Watson.
 
The Skyhawks then outscored the Redhawks the rest of the first period for an 11-11 tied score line heading to the second quarter.  
 
Chandler Davis knocked down a jumper to provide SEMO a 23-19 lead with 5:17 remaining in the first half.
 
Davis, a sophomore from Alpharetta, Georgia, finished with a career-high eight points Thursday to pace the Redhawks non-starters. She shot 3-for-4 from the field and a perfect 2-for-2 on treys.
 
The Skyhawks then went on an 8-0 run to pull ahead 27-23 with just over two minutes in the second stanza.
 
Diona Reed then made a lay-up before a pair of free throws from Watson tied the game at 27-27.
 
Reed played in her first game back from injury since Nov. 30 against Southern Illinois. She finished with two points in four minutes of court time.
 
UTM closed the first half with three free throws to take a 30-27 lead at the break.
 
In the third quarter, the Skyhawks widened the gap to 37-31 after a 7-0 run.
 
Pruitt then registered back-to-back triples to even the game at 40-40 at 5:04 in the third quarter.
 
She added another three-pointer to trim the UTM advantage to 46-45.
 
Watson closed the third quarter with a jumper off a feed from Stewart as the horn sounded to tie the game at 50-50.
 
SEMO shot 50 percent from the field while UT Martin finished with a clip of .473. The Redhawks were 56 percent shooting in the second quarter and 80 percent in the third.
 
SEMO outrebounded the Skyhawks, 37-22.
 
UTM tallied 25 points of Redhawk turnovers.
 
Watkins and Smith each had six points. For Watkins, the point total concluded her double-digit scoring streak at six games.
 
Paige Pipkin led three Skyhawks in double-digits scoring with 19. Seygan Robins added 13 points and Littleford finished with 11.
 
For Redhawk assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Jasmine Newsome Thursday was the first time coaching against her alma mater, UT Martin.
 
SEMO next hosts Eastern Illinois Saturday in the regular-season series finale between the two institutions. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m., CT at the Show Me Center.