Game 8
Southeast Missouri (3-4) at Southern Illinois (1-6)
 
Game Information: 
Date: Saturday, December 6
Time: 2 p.m., CT. 
Location: Carbondale, Illinois
Venue: Banterra Center
Series: SIU leads 9-8 (since 2001)
 
Head Coaches:
SEMO: Briley Palmer (92-90 Overall, 9-29 at SEMO | Second Season)
SIU: Kelly Bond-White (28-71, Fourth Season)
 
Follow the Redhawks: 
X: @OfficialSEMOWBB
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: SEMO ESPN 93.5 FM or 1220 AM (Rusty Hendricks)
 
Game Notes (PDF)
Media Guide (PDF)
 
Redhawks Cross the River to Take on Southern Illinois Saturday 
Southeast Missouri Women's Basketball (3-4) will travel across the river to take on rival Southern Illinois (1-6) on Saturday, December 6 in Carbondale, Illinois. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m., CT. at the Banterra Center. 
 
Series History
The Redhawks and Salukis meet for the 18^th time since the 2001 season and for the third-straight season dating back to the 2023 campaign. Last year, SEMO dominated the Salukis with a 70-58 victory at the Show Me Center for the first victory of the season. Since 2001, the Salukis hold a 9-8 series advantage. 
 
Earlier This Week
SEMO Women's Hoops return to action after a dominating performance against Harris-Stowe on Wednesday night at the Show Me Center. The Redhawks cruised to a 116-34 victory as six different Redhawks scored double-digits led by Carmen Taylor who finished with a career best 24 points. SEMO shot an impressive 53-percent from the field and dominated the paint with a 62-14 advantage inside. 
 
First Career Victory
Second year head coach Briley Palmer picked up her first career NCAA Division I victory last season over Southern Illinois at the Show Me Center. The 70-58 victory snapped a three-game losing streak with the Salukis as the Redhawks' last victory versus SIU came during the 2020 season before last year. 
 
Program Record(s)
SEMO Women's Basketball broke two program records on Wednesday night against Harris-Stowe. The Redhawks' +82 scoring margin snapped a previous record set during the 1970s, and 116 points marked the highest number of points in a contest. The points surpassed the previous record of 114 scored during the 2024 OVC Tournament when the Redhawks defeated Belmont in the semifinals of the tournament en route to capturing the OVC crown. 
 
Double-Double
Forward Kearra Jones recorded the season's first double-double for the Redhawks on Wednesday night. Jones, a native of Madison, Wisconsin, poured in 11 points and hauled in 15 rebounds against Harris-Stowe. Her 11 points is her second-highest point total this season, and her 15 rebounds marked a new career-high on Wednesday night. 
 
Efficiency
Carmen Taylor recorded her SEMO career-high in points on Wednesday night dropping in 24 against Harris-Stowe. She scored 24 on 8-15 shooting, a staggering 53.3-percent from the field which marked her highest field goal percentage this season. She was also 5-12 from three-point land (5-12) and was nearly perfect at the charity stripe (3-4). Taylor has now scored in double figures in three contests this season and has scored 20+ twice. 
 
Oh Na-Na
Center Ainaya Williams dominated in the paint on Wednesday night as she recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Williams scored 17 of SEMO's 64 points in the paint and rose her points per game average to 10.9, up from her previous 9.8. Wednesday night marked the first time this season that Williams has recorded double-digit rebounds. 
 
14-Straight
Williams also recorded a block against Harris-Stowe which extended her current streak to 14-games with at least a block, dating back to the 2024-25 season.  On the season, Williams currently has 13 blocks and leads the Ohio Valley Conference in that category. 
 
Freshman Point Guard
Freshman Noelani Dunn had some great run on Wednesday night, playing her career most 20-minutes against Harris-Stowe. The Frankfort, Illinois-native dropped in a career-high nine points on 3-5 shooting (60%) and was also 3-5 at the foul line. She dished out three assists and recorded two steals for the Redhawks. 
 
Holy Assists
The Redhawks entered Wednesday's contest with a previous high of 15 team assists set back against Missouri State (11/11). SEMO shattered their previous high as they dished out 24 assists as a team on Wednesday night led by Lexi McCully who finished with five assists. Eight different Redhawks finished with two or more assists in the contest, guard Charmen Taylor finished just behind McCully with four. 
 
Movin' Up
SEMO entered Wednesday's contest ranked seventh in the Ohio Valley Conference in points per game as a squad. After scoring 116, the Redhawks propelled themselves all the way to fourth in the league in PPG and are averaging 70.1 through seven games. Western Illinois leads the conference with an 85.5 PPG average. 
 
Locked In
After shooting 53.3-percent from the field on Wednesday night, the Redhawks moved themselves up to fifth in the OVC in shooting-percentage as a team. The Redhawks are shooting 39.4-percent from the field through seven games with a 169-429 mark. 
 
McCully Soars
Lexi McCully played her lowest number of minutes this season on Wednesday night and still managed to reach double-digit points against Harris-Stowe. In just 19 minutes of game time, McCully scored 15 points and reached double figures and extended her streak to 10 games with 10 or more points dating back to last season. She is averaging 16.1 PPG this season, and she ranks fourth in the OVC. 
 
Second In the League
Carmen Taylor enters Saturday's contest as the top three-point shooter on the squad. Taylor has knocked down 19 three-pointers in just seven games and ranks second in the OVC in that category. Taylor is averaging 2.7 threes per game and trails only Ellie Brueggemann from Lindenwood (2.9) who leads the conference. Taylor also ranks second in the OVC in three-point field goal percentage with a 39.6-percent clip this season. 
 
The Big at the Line
Center Ainaya Williams has been one of the Redhawks' best foul shooters this season through seven games. Williams is shooting 77.8-percent at the foul line with a 28-36 mark. She ranks eighth in the Ohio Valley Conference in free throw percentage.