Game #29
#4 Southeast Missouri (15-14, 10-8 OVC)
Vs. #8 Morehead State (11-19, 6-12 OVC)
Game Information
Date: Thursday, March 2, 2023
Tip-off: 1:00 p.m., CT. 
Location: Evansville, Ill. 
Arena: Ford Center
Series: SEMO leads 28-20
Last Meeting: SEMO won 69-55 | February 2, 2023 | Cape Girardeau, Mo. 
Head Coaches: Rekha Patterson (116-121, Eighth Season at SEMO);
Cayla Petree (11-19, First Season at Morehead State)
 
Follow The Game
Video: ESPN+  
Radio: SEMO ESPN (Erik Sean) 
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
2022-23 WBB Stats
 
#4 Seed Redhawks Ready To Battle #8 Morehead State in Quarterfinals Thursday
Southeast Missouri (15-14, 10-8 OVC) will play in the Quarterfinal round of the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Tournament against the #8 seed Morehead State Eagles (11-19, 6-12 OVC) on Thursday, March 2, in Evansville, Ind. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m., CT. at the Ford Center. 
 
Jaliyah Green, Stud. 
Sophomore Jaliyah Green was named to the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball first team by the league's coaches and Sports Information Directors, the league announced Tuesday, ahead of the 2023 OVC Conference Tournament. 
 
Green, from Wentzville, Mo., started in 13 out of 16 Ohio Valley Conference games for Coach Patterson. She averaged 8.1 points per game, including ending the season on a six-game double digit point streak. 
 
She averaged 4.4 rebounds per game with 37 assists on the offensive end of the floor. She shot 43.0-percent from the field in conference play, including 27.1-percent from three, and 80-percent from the free throw line. She finished the overall season with nine blocks and 38 steals. 
 
Green was the only Redhawk to make the postseason roster.
 
Series History
The Redhawks swept the 2023 regular season with the Eagles winning in Morehead, Ky. (87-77) on Jan. 14 and Cape Girardeau (69-55) on Feb. 11. SEMO currently has a 28-20  series lead over MSU and the Eagles' head coach Cayla Petree has yet to defeat Redhawks head coach Rekha Patterson. 
 
Scouting the Opponent
Eagles
#8-seed Morehead State Eagles will come into Thursday's matchup with SEMO having defeated #5-seed UT Martin in the first round of the 2023 OVC Tournament on Wednesday, Mar. 1 by a final score of 70-68. 
 
MSU and UTM squared off just four days ago as the Skyhawks defeated the Eagles by 14. 
 
The Eagles shot 51-percent from the field and were led in scoring by Sophie Benharouga who went for 18 points and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Benharouga led her team in points for Wednesday's contest. 
 
The OVC assist leader Sandra Lin helped her team by dishing out 10 dimes and registered a double-double with 13 points as well.
 
MSU hit the glass hard on Wednesday, grabbing 12 offensive rebounds as the Eagles were able to convert them into 12 second chance points. Jayden Rhodes led the Eagles in rebounds with 10 for the game. 
 
The Eagles trailed 54-50 at the end of the third quarter after scoring 20 points in the quarter as the game entered the final 10-minutes. 
 
UTM led by as many as eight, 65-57, in the fourth quarter before MSU used a 10-0 run to take a 67-65 lead with just under 90-seconds to play in the contest and snatched the first round tournament contest by a final score of 70-68. 
 
The Eagles and Redhawks will face off for the third time this season on Thursday afternoon.
 
Last Time Out 
Southeast Missouri (15-14, 10-8 OVC) scored a season-high 51 first-half points in an 88-71 drubbing of SIU Edwardsville (8-21, 7-11 OVC) Saturday in the regular season finale for both teams.
 
SEMO, which is the #4 seed in next week's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, will face the winner of #5 UT Martin and #8 Morehead State in the quarterfinals on Mar. 2. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m., CT at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
 
The Redhawks led by as many as 28 with 8:19 remaining in the third quarter and was ahead for 35:51 minutes of the game en route to their sixth-straight win.
 
Four Redhawks scored double figures led by guard Rahmena Henderson who had a team-high 20 points. Jaliyah Green finished with 19, while Kiyley Flowers and Halle Smith had 17 and 16, respectively. 
 
SEMO's defense forced 23 SIUE turnovers and converted them into 32 points. The Redhawks scored 34 points off the fastbreak alone.
 
The Redhawks scored 12 of their fastbreak points in the first quarter with Green getting two steals and Flowers collecting one help give SEMO a 26-23 lead at the end of the first. 
 
In the second quarter, SEMO exploded for 25 points and limited the Cougars to only four points in a dominating second quarter. The Redhawks closed out that period on a 22-0 run and never let up after that.
 
The four points marked a season-low allowed by SEMO's defense in any quarter this season. SIUE missed 21 field goals in the second quarter. 
 
Henderson (13), Green (15) and Flowers (10) were all in double figures in the scoring column by halftime. SEMO shot a scorching 56.7 percent from the field in the game's opening 20 minutes. 
 
Henderson buried a corner 3-pointer to give SEMO its largest lead of the afternoon at 44-27. 
 
The Redhawks continued to pick apart the Cougars in the second half. Flowers' pullup jumper widened SEMO's lead to 53-27 and SIUE never recovered.