Game 21
Southeast Missouri (7-13, 3-8 OVC) at Eastern Illinois (3-19, 2-9 OVC) 
 
Game Information:
Date: Saturday, January 31 
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Charleston, Illinois
Venue: Groniger Arena
Series: SEMO leads 30-28
 
Head Coaches: 
SEMO: Briley Palmer (90-78 overall; 13-38 at SEMO; Second Season)
EIU: Marqus McGlothan (21-31; Second Season)
 
Follow the Redhawks: 
X: @OfficialSEMOWBB
Live Stats: SideArm Sports
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: SEMO ESPN 93.5 FM or 1220 AM (Erik Sean)
 
Game Notes (PDF)
Media Guide (PDF)
 
Redhawks Continue Illinois Trip Saturday at Eastern Illinois
Southeast Missouri Women's Basketball (7-13, 3-8 OVC) will meet OVC foe Eastern Illinois (3-19, 2-9 OVC) for the second time this season on Saturday, January 31. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m., CT. from Groniger Arena in Charleston, Illinois. 
 
Series History
The Redhawks and Panthers will meet for the 59^th time on the basketball court Saturday afternoon, and for the second time this season. SEMO holds a 30-28 overall record and defeated EIU earlier this season by a final score of 70-68 in Cape Girardeau. The Redhawks' victory earlier this year snapped a three-game losing streak to the Panthers dating back to the 2023-24 season. 
 
Thursday Night
Southeast Missouri suffered a 69-55 setback last night at Western Illinois. Three Redhawks finished in double figures in Raissa Nsabua (11), Madison Ayers (10), and Lexi McCully (11) to lead the Redhawks in scoring. SEMO hit a cold stretch in the third quarter of play after starting the half on a 5-2 run, but a 15-6 run over the final eight minutes of the quarter pushed the home team in front. SEMO scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough as WIU secured their second win over SEMO of the 2025-26 campaign. 
 
Palmer's First Win Over EIU
Earlier this season, the Redhawks defeated Eastern Illinois in the Show Me Center in a thrilling 70-68 victory. The win marked the first victory of second year coach Briley Palmer's career over Eastern Illinois as the Panthers defeated SEMO in both matchups her first season (2024-25). 
 
20+ Turnovers
Defensively, the Redhawks did a great job of forcing turnovers against Western Illinois on Thursday night. SEMO forced the Leathernecks into 20 total turnovers and scored 20 points off those turnovers. The Redhawks forced 20 turnovers in a game for the 10^th time this season but fell to 4-6 in those games after Thursday. 
 
Gotta Distribute
The Redhawks, who entered Thursday night third in the OVC in team assists, recorded just five assists as a team. Raissa Nsabua and Kearra Jones each dished out a pair of assists to lead SEMO in the category. In games where the Redhawks dish out 15+ assists, SEMO is 2-2 on the season. On the flip side, when the Redhawks record under 15 assists they fell to 5-11 this season. 
 
Make it Five
Sophomore Kearra Jones battled on the glass last night, hauling in eight rebounds in just 20-minutes of action. Jones, who was battling foul trouble for most of the evening, snagged seven defensive boards and one offensive to push her season total to 105 total rebounds this year. Thursday's game marked the fifth time this season Jones has finished with 8+ rebounds in a game. 
 
Back in Double Figures
Guard Madison Ayers returned to double-digit scoring last night at Western Illinois. Ayers has scored double figures in three-of-the-last-five games as she scored 10 points in 37-minutes of action. Ayers has scored 16, 12, and 10 points in those three double-digit performances and she is averaging 9.8 PPG over the span. 
 
Vet Presence
Graduate student Raissa Nsabua scored 11 points last night against Western Illinois marking her second-straight game with 10+ points. Over the last two games, Nsabua has scored 23 points for an average of 11.5 PPG. She pushed her points total to 126 points this season and is averaging 6.6 PPG over 19 games played. 
 
Come Back
Graduate Charmen Taylor had a great performance at Western Illinois after not recording a point in three-straight games. Taylor played in 28-minutes, tying her second-highest total this season, while scoring five points on 2-3 shooting (67-percent). She also drained just her fifth three-pointer of the season to start the second half yesterday evening. 
 
Turn 'Em Over
Carmen Taylor leads the Redhawks defense in steals. Through 20 games, Taylor has recorded 33 steals and is averaging 1.7 steals-per-game. She ranks 11^th in the Ohio Valley Conference in steals.