Game #1
Southeast Missouri (0-0) at Illinois (0-0)
 
Game Information: 
Date: Tuesday, November 4
Time: 6 p.m., CT. 
Location: Champaign, Illinois
Venue: State Farm Center
Series: First meeting all-time
 
Head Coaches: 
SEMO: Briley Palmer (6-25 | Second Season)
Illinois: Shauna Green (63-35 | Fourth Season)
 
Follow the Redhawks: 
X: @OfficialSEMOWBB
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Watch: B1G Network +
Listen: SEMO ESPN 93.5 FM or 1220 AM (Rusty Hendricks)
 
Game Notes (PDF)
 
Women's Basketball Begins 2025-26 Campaign Tuesday at Illinois
SEMO Women's Basketball (0-0) will begin the second season under Head Coach Briley Palmer on Tuesday, November 4, with a road trip to B1G Conference Member, Illinois (0-0). Tip-off is set for 6 p.m., CT. from the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. 
 
Series History
Tuesday's season opener marks the first matchup on the hardwood between the Redhawks and Fighting Illini. In SEMO program history, Illinois is the third program from the B1G the Redhawks have faced off against. Most recently, the Redhawks faced off with Northwestern and Purdue during the 2023-24 season. 
 
#FindAWay
The Redhawks, who enter the second season under Briley Palmer, have created a new moniker for this season using the 'hashtag' #FindAWay. Coach Palmer on how her program came to the decision to use the slogan: "Our players came up with this year's hashtag — #FindAWay — and I'm rolling with them. I believe in this group and how they show up every single day." 
 
Picked Ninth
Southeast Missouri Women's Basketball was picked to finish ninth in the 2025-26 Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Poll, voted on by the league's head coaches and communication(s) staff. Ahead of the 2024-25 season, SEMO was picked to finish last in the league and finished one spot ahead of SIUE after the conclusion of last season. Coach Palmer on what the preseason poll means for the program: ""Rankings don't define us — work does. Year 2 is about earning every ounce of respect through how we compete, prepare, and represent SEMO. We're not asking for it. We're earning it."
 
Welcome Back
Graduate student guard Lexi McCully and sophomore center Ainaya Williams each landed on the OVC 'Players to Watch' list ahead of the season after their performances last year. McCully is the leading scorer from the 2024-25 campaign where she averaged 11.2 points per game scoring 324 points over 29 games played. She shot 34.7-percent from the field, 31.2-percet from three, and was an impressive 86-percent free throw shooter a season ago. 
 
Ainaya Williams is the leading rebounder returning from a freshman campaign that saw her average 5.2 rebounds per game. She collected a total of 136 rebounds, 53 coming on the offensive end (2.0 ORPG). She also led the Redhawks with 53 blocked shots (2.0 BPG) which put her in the top 10 in program history for blocks in a single season. 
 
Williams was the third leading scorer a season ago, averaging 9.2 points per game and led the team in field goal percentage at 49.7-percent.
 
Four Returners, 10 Newcomers
The revamped roster for this seasons' SEMO Women's Basketball team features four returners from a season ago. The backcourt trio of Lexi McCully, Da'Kariya 'Lia' Jackson, and Anjelicia Del Valle are joined by their frontcourt center Ainaya Williams as the four returners. 10 newcomers begin their first season as a Redhawk to round out the 14-person roster. 
 
Newcomer Spotlight
Frontcourt
New to the paint this season is center Aa'Mya Stacker and forward Evie Caruso. Stacker, a 6-0 junior from Independence, Mo., transferred to Cape Girardeau by way of Johnson County Community College. She averaged 5.4 PPG and holds the JCCC record for field goal percentage with a 64.5-percent mark. Forward Evie Caruso is a Cape Girardeau, Mo.-native and is a sophomore this season. She graduated from Saxony Lutheran where she averaged 10 PPG, seven rebounds, and 2.6 blocks in her senior season. 
 
Backcourt
A plethora of experience and youth, the Redhawks feature seven newcomers at the guard position this season. Three graduate students in Raissa Nsabua, Carmen Taylor, and Charmen Taylor are joined by junior Madison Ayers to round out the upperclassmen. Freshmen Zoey Rixter, Noelani Dunn, and Addison Tarr will begin their collegiate career this season. 
 
2^nd All-Time Single-Season Blocks
Center Ainaya Williams etched her name in the history books during her freshman campaign. Williams, who is a native of St. Louis, Mo., recorded 53 total blocks over 26 games played in 24-25. She now ranks second all-time in program history for blocks in a single season trailing only LaTrese Saine who finished with 103 blocks during the 2020-21 season. 
 
 D1 Experience
Graduate student Raissa Nsabua provides the Redhawks with significant experience in the backcourt. With stints at Wichita State and most recently at Robert Morris, Nsabua has played in 73 games over three seasons. She has made 48 starts before joining the Redhawks, averaging 4.0 PPG including a career-high 19 points against Detroit Mercy last season. 
 
1,000 Point Tracker
Lexi McCully has a chance to eclipse the 1,000-career point mark this season after a stellar 2024-25. McCully, who recorded career-high 324 points last season for the Redhawks, now has 590 total points in her NCAA career after scoring 266 for Georgia Southwestern (23-24). She needs 410 points this season to achieve 1,000 points for her career. 
 
Family Tree
While the Redhawks are a brand new roster, head coach Briley Palmer has familiarity and coaching experience with several of the Redhawks. The former coach at Mineral Area College, Palmer coached Raissa Nsabua, Lexi McCully, and Madison Ayers during her time at MAC. She also coached against Da'Kariya Jackson who played her first two seasons at Three Rivers College. 
 
Assistants
The Redhawks welcome in three new coaches to the coaching staff for the 2025-26 season. Reggie Mosley, Kate Rolfes, and Jace Lance will all make their Division I coaching debut at Illinois on Tuesday night. Mosley spent the last three seasons as an assistant at Division II Coker University in Hartsville, South Carolina. There he led the Cobras to 29-5 record last season, including a 20-4 conference record in the South Atlantic Conference. 
 
Rolfes just wrapped up her final season of collegiate basketball as a player last season at Missouri-St. Louis. There she started in all 28 games for the Tritons, averaging 10.5 PPG and shot 37.5-percent from the floor and 34.6-percent from three. The SEMO job is the first for Rolfes' career. 
 
Much the same for Jace Lance. A standout player at Missouri Valley College, Lance became the all-time assists leader in Missouri Valley College history in 2024-25. He finished sixth in scoring, third in three-pointers made, and was a four-time all-conference selection for the Vikings. The 2025-26 season marks his first as a collegiate coach. 
 
Double Vision
The backcourt duo of Carmen and Charmen Taylor is a rarity as they are identical twins. Natives of Memphis, Tennessee, Carmen will wear jersey number 0 while Charmen will wear number one. They most recently played at Williams Baptist where they played in 60+ games for the Eagles.