Game 14
Southeast Missouri (5-8, 1-3 OVC) at Southern Indiana (9-4, 3-1 OVC) 
 
Game Information: 
Date: Thursday, January 8
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Evansville, Ind. 
Venue: Liberty Arena 
Series: USI leads 5-1
 
Head Coaches: 
SEMO: Briley Palmer (88-73 overall; 11-33 at SEMO; Second Season)
USI: Rick Stein (480-278; 27^th Season)
 
Follow the Redhawks: 
X: @OfficialSEMOWBB
Live Stats: Sidearm Sports
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: SEMO ESPN 93.5 FM or 1220 AM
 
Game Notes (PDF)
Media Guide (PDF)
 
Redhawks Travel to Southern Indiana on Thursday
Southeast Missouri (5-8, 1-3 OVC) will begin a two-game road swing when they take on Southern Indiana (9-4, 3-1 OVC) on Thursday, January 8, in Evansville, Indiana. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m., CT. at Liberty Arena. 
 
Series History
The Redhawks and Screaming Eagles will meet for the 19^th time overall and the seventh time since USI became a Division I institute and OVC member in 2022. SEMO leads the all-time series by a 12-6 mark, but trail in the DI era with a 1-5 record against USI. SEMO last defeated USI on February 18, 2023, with a 63-59 victory in Cape Girardeau. USI has won four-straight in the series. 
 
Last Time Out
SEMO Women's Basketball was last in action on Saturday, January 3, in a matchup with Western Illinois in Cape Girardeau. The Redhawks fell by a final score of 58-51, suffering just their second loss of the season at home. Guard Carmen Taylor led the Redhawks in scoring with 11 total points, followed by Lexi McCully (10), and Ainaya Williams (10). The Redhawks shot 32.1-percent from the field and were an impressive 85.7-percent at the charity stripe. SEMO scored 30-of-51 points inside the paint and scored 15 points off the bench in the contest. 
 
In League Play
Through four games in OVC action, the Redhawks are averaging 64.8 PPG having scored 259 points overall against conference opponents. Center Ainaya Williams leads the squad in scoring in OVC play with a 14.8 PPG average. Guard Carmen Taylor is second on the team with an 11.8 PPG mark. SEMO is currently 1-3 in the conference. 
 
Overall
Through 13 games, the Redhawks currently rank fourth in the OVC in team offense having scored 912 total points for a 70.2 PPG average in 2025-26. Southern Indiana ranks just ahead of SEMO with a 71.5 PPG mark as the two will meet on Thursday night. 
 
Off the Bench
Center Ainaya Williams has come off the bench in the last two games after starting six games in a row previous. Williams has turned in back-to-back double-digit scoring performances with 13 points against Eastern Illinois (1/1) and Western Illinois with 10 points (1/3). She has scored 158 points on the season and is averaging 12.2 PPG overall. 
 
Stack is Back
The Redhawks got another frontcourt piece back from injury over the past week. Center Aa'Mya Stacker returned to the court for SEMO after suffering an injury at Arizona State earlier this season (11/29). Stacker has scored a basket in each of the last three games, including tying her season-high against William Woods with eight points (12/30). In just eight games played, Stacker has hauled in 32 rebounds and scored 33 points. 
 
Let it Fly
Guard Carmen Taylor leads the Redhawks in three-point field goals per game through 13 games. Taylor, who has made the most threes on the team (28), ranks fourth in the OVC with 2.2 makes per game. She recorded her season-high of seven three pointers in a single game earlier this year at Arizona State (11/29). She is shooting 30.8-percent from three-point range. 
 
Take it Back
Southeast Missouri's defense has done a good job of creating chaos and forcing steals through 13 games this season. The Redhawks currently rank sixth in the OVC as a team in steals, having forced 111 steals (8.54 SPG). Southern Indiana leads the league in steals with 144 through the same number of games (11.08 SPG). 
 
Sharing is Caring
The Redhawks have dished out 181 total assists this season in 13 games, averaging 13.92 assists per game. SEMO ranks third in the OVC in team assists trailing only Morehead State (219) and Lindenwood (242). Guard Raissa Nsabua ranks fourth overall in the OVC and leads the Redahwks with 48 total assists (4.0 APG) in just 12 games played. 
 
At the Stripe
Guards Carmen Taylor and Raissa Nsabua lead the Redhawks in free throw percentage through the first 13 games of the season. Taylor is shooting a staggering 94.1-percent at the foul line, having missed just one free throw all season (16-17). Nsabua is shooting 80.6-percent at the stripe, having made 29-of-36 total attempts. 
 
Leading Rebounder
Freshman Zoey Rixter continues to lead the Redhawks in rebounding in just her first season in Cape Girardeau. Rixter has hauled in 71 rebounds in 13 games, averaging 5.5 RPG. She ranks 15^th in the OVC overall in total rebounds. Mia Nicastro of Western Illinois leads the OVC with 10.5 RPG. 
 
Valuable Minutes
Sophomore Kearra Jones has started back-to-back games for the first time this season following this past week. Jones, a native of Madison, Wis., is averaging 17.5 minutes per game and is coming off a career-high 18-point performance against William Woods (12/30). She scored seven points against Western Illinois in 22:34 of action, hauled in two rebounds, and recorded a single block and steal against the Leathernecks. 
 
Turnover Margin
This season, the Redhawks have forced 254 turnovers from their opponents for an average of 19.5 forced turnovers per game. Conversely, SEMO has only turned it over 213 times for a turnover margin of +3.2. The Redhawks rank fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference in turnover margin trailing fourth place Little Rock (+3.43). 
 
Every Single Game
Only one Redhawk has started all 13 games this season in graduate student guard Lexi McCully. McCully has started in 26-straight games dating back to the 2024-25 season and has played in 1,189 minutes in a Redhawk uniform. She is the Redhawks leading scorer averaging 13.1 points per game and scored 10 points against Western Illinois last Saturday. 
 
Sixth 
The Redhawks rank sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference in both team field goal percentage and opponent field goal percentage. Offensively, the Redhawks are shooting 40.5-percent from the field (320-791). Defensively, SEMO's opponents are averaging 39.1-percent from the field against the Redhawks. Lindenwood leads the league offensively (45.8%) as Southern Indiana leads the league defensively (35.3%).