Game 5
Southern Illinois (1-3) vs. Southeast Missouri (0-4)
 
Game Information: 
Date: Monday, November 25
Time: 6:30 p.m., CT. 
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo. 
Venue: Show-Me Center
Series: SIU leads 33-7
 
Head Coaches: 
SEMO: Briley Palmer (0-4, First Season)
SIU: Kelly Bond-White (24-42, Third Season)
 
Follow The Redhawks: 
X: @OfficialSEMOWBB
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: SEMO ESPN 93.5 FM or 1220 AM (Rusty Hendricks)
Tickets
 
Game Notes (PDF)
Media Guide (PDF)
 
Redhawks Host Southern Illinois for 2024-25 Home Opener
Southeast Missouri Women's Basketball (0-4) will welcome local rival Southern Illinois (1-3) across the river on Monday, November 25, for the first home contest of the season. Tip-off is set for inside the Show-Me Center at 6:30 p.m., CT. 
 
Series History 
The Redhawks and Salukis will meet for the 41^st time on Monday evening. The matchup will mark the second year in a row the two have met on the hardwood as the two last met in 2021 before playing a season ago. SIU won the matchup in Carbondale, Illinois by a final score of 85-70 in the 2023-24 season opener. SIU holds a 33-7 overall series lead with the Redhawks' last victory coming on December 7, 2019 (79-65) in Cape Girardeau. 
 
Last Time Out
SEMO rounded out their road trip last Sunday at Eastern Kentucky, falling 89-61 in Berea, Kentucky. Freshman Ainaya Williams and Brianna Hill led the Redhawks in scoring with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Hill, making her first start in a SEMO uniform, finished the game 3-for-7 from the field and an impressive 5-for-6 from the charity stripe. EKU outrebounded the Redhawks by a 45-30 advantage and outshot the Redhawks 41.0 to 29.0-percent from the field in the contest.
 
First Start
Guard Brianna Hill made her first start of the 2024-25 campaign on Sunday against EKU as she finished with 11 points, second most on the team for the game. The Lansing, Illinois-native 3-for-7 from the field (.429) and a missed just one free throw. She finished 5-for-6 from the charity stripe (.833) and has missed just one freebie all season (7-8, .875). 
 
Guards on the Glass
Three Redhawks guards lead the squad in rebounding through the first four games. Freshman Zoe Best leads the club with 19 total rebounds. Kennedy Claybrooks is second with 16 as the backcourt duo is averaging 4.8 and 4.0 rebounds-per-game, respectively. Anjelicia Del Valle has pulled in 14 rebounds rounding out the top three rebounders on the team. 
 
Off the Bench
Center Ainaya Williams came off the bench in Sunday's contest for the first time through the first four games of the season. Williams, who did most of her damage inside, finished with a career-high 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting. She was also an impressive 80-percent foul shooter, finishing 4-for-5 on the afternoon. She is averaging 7.5 PPG through the first four games of the season in roughly 20 minutes-per-game (20.1). 
 
Three Consecutive
Senior guard Lexi McCully has made three consecutive starts for the Redhawks beginning at Texas (11/10). The Grand Rapids, Michigan-native is averaging 28 minutes-per-game and had a SEMO career-high 16 points at Evansville (11/14). McCully is averaging 9.3 points-per-game and is shooting over 30-percent from the field so far (16-52, 30.8%). 
 
Protect the Paint
Ainaya Williams leads the Redhawks in blocked shots so far through four games. Williams, who enters Monday's contest with eight blocks on the campaign, has all but one of SEMO's nine blocks on the season. Anjelicia Del Valle registered the only other block of the season on Sunday afternoon. Williams currently ranks second in the OVC in blocked shots, just three behind Tennessee Tech's Anna Walker (11). 
 
Give & Take
Junior Kennedy Claybrooks ranks near the top of the Ohio Valley Conference in both assists and steals. Claybrooks, who dished out three assists on Sunday, has 19 assists on the season and is averaging 4.8 assists-per-game. With 19 turnovers, she has an even 1.0 assist-to-turnover-ratio through the first four games. Claybrooks is ranked tied-for-first in the OVC with Morehead State's Katie Novik at 19 assists. She has registered 10 steals so far this season which ranks her ninth in the conference. 
 
By the Numbers
Through four games, Southeast Missouri has scored 233 points for an average of 58.3 points-per-game. SEMO scored 70 points in the season opener at Dayton for their highest point total of the season. As a team, SEMO is shooting 35.7% (91-255) from the field, 24.2% (16-66) from three, and 59.3% (35-59) from the free throw line. 
 
Scouting SIU
The Salukis will be coming off of a nine-day hiatus by the time they verse the Redhawks. SIU recently beat IU Indy 85-80 for their first win of the season. Their first three games of the season they fell to Auburn, Eastern Kentucky, and UL Monroe.
 
Against IU Indy, junior forward Gift Uchenna recorded a double-double with a season high 34 points and 17 rebounds. Uchenna also added four steals and two blocks to the stat sheet. 
 
SIU had two other Salukis reach double figures, Tyranny Brown and Se'quoia Allmond both scored ten points each. Allmond also recorded five rebounds, two assists, and three steals.
 
Uchenna is leading the team to start the season while averaging a double-double. She is averaging 15.3 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game while also shooting a .464 clip. Uchenna leads the team in steals and blocks with eight. 
 
Kayla Cooper, the Salukis' starting guard, is shooting 62.5% from deep this season and averaging the second most points per game with 8.3. 
 
As a team SIU is scoring 57.8 points per game compared to their opponents 73.5. The Salukis have recorded 140 rebounds (35 per game), 40 assists (10 per game), and 87 turnovers (21.8 per game). 
 
The Salukis are shooting 35.8% from the field, 29.3% from behind the arc, and 76.2% from the charity stripe.  
 
SIU was picked to finish tenth in this year's Missouri Valley Conference pre-season poll. 
 
Last season the Salukis went 11-20 and 6-14 in Missouri Valley games. Their season ended in the first round of the conference tournament with a loss to Indiana State. 
 
Kelly Bond-White is entering her third season as the Head Coach of the SIU women's basketball program. Bond-White has a 24-42 overall record and a 14-26 conference as the Head Coach of SIU so far.