GAME 9
Eastern Illinois (3-6, 0-0 OVC) vs. Southeast Missouri (1-7, 0-0 OVC)
 
Game Information: 
Date: Thursday, December 19, 2024
Time: 5:15 p.m., CT. 
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo. 
Venue: Show Me Center
Series: SEMO leads 34-24
 
Head Coaches
SEMO: Briley Palmer (1-7, First Season)
EIU: Marqus McGlothan (3-6, First Season)
 
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Tickets
 
Game Notes (PDF)
Media Guide (PDF)
 
Redhawks Host Eastern Illinois to Begin OVC Play Thursday
Southeast Missouri Women's Basketball (1-7, 0-0 OVC) will begin the 2024-25 portion of Ohio Valley Conference play on Thursday, December 19, when they welcome in longtime foe Eastern Illinois (3-6, 0-0 OVC) to the Show Me Center. Tip-off is set for 5:15 p.m., CT. in Cape Girardeau. 
 
Series History
The Redhawks and Panthers are two of the longest tenured programs in the Ohio Valley Conference and will meet for the 59^th time on Thursday evening. SEMO leads the overall series by a 34-24 advantage. Last season, the two teams met just one time with EIU taking a 71-52 victory in Charleston, Illinois. SEMO has won just one game over the last seven with EIU. 
 
Three Games in Six Days
Thursday's contest marks the second game of a three-game week as the Redhawks began the week with a 77-49 loss to Missouri State (Dec. 16). SEMO will host EIU on Thursday and then host SIUE (Dec. 21) on Saturday to conclude the stretch. 
 
Last Time Out
SEMO fell on Monday afternoon to Missouri State by a final score of 77-49 behind a season-high 19 points from guard Indiya Bowen. The Redhawks shot 18-63 from the field (28.6-percent) and just 4-23 from three-point range (17.4-percent). SEMO had a great day from the charity stripe going 9-for-11 from the line as a team. Bowen was the lone Redhawk who finished in double figures in the contest. 
 
MSU shot 53-percent from the field (26-49) and 50-percent from deep (8-16) led by Cady Pauley with 17 points. 
 
On the defensive end, SEMO edged the Bears in steals with a 10-8 advantage. The Redhawks forced the Bears into 23 turnovers, converting them into 15 points on the offensive end.
 
Entering OVC Play
The Redhawks enter Ohio Valley Conference play ranked 10^th in the conference at 1-7 overall, a game above Western Illinois (5-4, 0-1 OVC) who lost to first place Tennessee Tech (7-3, 1-0 OVC) earlier this week. A season ago, SEMO finished 6-12 in league play concluding the regular season with a 70-59 loss to Southern Indiana. 
 
Double-Digits
Sophomore guard Indiya Bowen recorded double digit points on Monday afternoon with a season-high 19 against Missouri State. The Mississippi-native now has three games this season north of 10 points. Her previous career-high was 20 points set last season against Eastern Illinois (2/15/24) in the only meeting with the Panthers in 2023-24. 
 
Race to 70
The Redhawks have found the most success this season when scoring 70 or more points in a contest. When the Redhawks score 70 they are 1-1 on the season including their 70-58 victory over Southern Illinois in the home opener (11/25). 
 
Control the Glass
This season, SEMO has outrebounded its opponent just one time resulting in a win over Southern Illinois (11/25) and are now 1-0 in games where they control the rebounding number. The Redhawks outrebounded the Salukis 36-33. 
 
At the Show Me Center
So far in 2024-25, the Redhawks have played three games in Cape Girardeau as all three have been from the Missouri Valley Conference in the non-conference portion of the schedule. SEMO is 1-2 at home this season with a win over rival Southern Illinois (70-58) but have fallen to Indiana State (68-65) and Missouri State (77-49). 
 
Off the Bench
Freshman guard Jariyah Williamson has come off the bench for the Redhawks in three-straight games and played a season-high 25 minutes in Monday's contest. The freshman from Hendersonville, Tennessee finished with a career-high six points on Monday afternoon with a pair of three pointers (2-4). Williamson has played in six-of-eight games this season and is averaging nine minutes-per-game. 
 
Barnes is Back
Skylar Barnes has returned to the court in the previous two games after missing some time with an injury. Barnes is averaging 14.0 minutes-per-game over the last two contests including a season-high 16 minutes on Monday afternoon. Barnes turned it up on the defensive end of the floor, recording a SEMO career-high two steals against Missouri State. 
 
Leading Scorer
Freshman Zoe Best is narrowing in on 100 points through the first eight games of her collegiate career. Best, who is averaging a team-high 12.3 points-per-game, has 98 points on the season. She has scored in double-figures five different times this season and is averaging 33.6 minutes-per-game. Best is the only Redhawk to have started and played in all eight games this season. 
 
Scouting Eastern Illinois
The Panthers enter Thursday's OVC opener with a 3-6 overall record led by first year head coach Marqus McGlothan. EIU Is led by senior Macy McGlone who ranks in the top 10 in the OVC in five different categories. In 28.8 minutes-per-game, McGlone is averaging 17.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, and has 13 blocks. 
 
Former Redhawk and current EIU guard Kiyley Flowers ranks third in the OVC in assists and is first in steals. Flowers, who ranks fourth in SEMO single-season program history for steals, has snagged 35 steals already this season and has dished out 39 assists. She currently has a 1.1 assists-to-turnover-ratio this season. 
 
EIU has wins over Indiana State (73-60), Indiana University-Indianapolis (66-49), and Loyola Chicago (66-60) this season. The Panthers are averaging 56.8 points-per-game which is one fewer point than SEMO, per game, this season (57.8).