Game 28
Tennessee State (4-23, 3-15 OVC) vs. Southeast Missouri (10-17, 6-12 OVC) 
 
Game Information: 
Date: Thursday, February 26
Time: 5:15 p.m.
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Venue: Show Me Center 
Series: SEMO leads 30-26
 
Head Coaches: 
SEMO: Briley Palmer (93-82 overall; 16-42 at SEMO; Second Season)
TSU: Candice Dupree (14-44 overall; Same at TSU; Second Season)
 
Follow the Redhawks: 
X: @OfficialSEMOWBB 
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: SEMO ESPN 93.5 FM or 1220 AM (Erik Sean)
 
Game Notes (PDF)
Media Guide (PDF)
 
Redhawks Begin Pivotal, Final Homestand Thursday Versus Tennessee State
Southeast Missouri Women's Basketball (10-17, 6-12 OVC) will begin its final homestand of the 2025-26 regular season on Thursday, February 26, when they take on Tennessee State (4-23, 3-15 OVC) in Cape Girardeau. Tip-off is set for 5:15 p.m., CT. at the Show Me Center. 
 
Donate Life
Thursday's matchup will mark the annual 'Donate Life Game' at the Show Me Center. The Redhawks will sport special blue and green Donate Life Jerseys to honor organ and tissue donation. The first fans in the building will receive a Donate Life water bottle courtesy of Mid America Transplant. 
 
Series History
The Redhawks and Tigers will meet for the 57^th time on the basketball court on Thursday night, and the second time in 2025-26. Earlier this year, the Redhawks fell at Tennessee State by a final score of 76-72 at the Gentry Center. SEMO holds a 30-26 overall series record against TSU in women's basketball. 
 
Huge Win
Women's Basketball comes back to Cape Girardeau after securing a massive win on the road at Little Rock, 71-62, last Saturday afternoon. The Redhawks defeated Little Rock in Little Rock, Arkansas for the first time since 2000, picking up win number six in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Redhawks completed the season sweep of Little Rock, marking the third team head coach Briley Palmer has swept in her career. The Redhawks shot an impressive 49.1-percent from the field and an even more impressive 94.1-percent at the foul line to push past the Trojans. Raissa Nsabua finished with a team-high 22 points on 10-11 shooting, hauled in eight rebounds, and went 2-2 at the foul line. Kearra Jones (13) and Ainaya Williams (10) joined Nsabua in double figures to lead SEMO to victory. 
 
Newcomer of the Week 
Graduate student Raissa Nsabua picked up the Redhawks' second OVC 'Newcomer of the Week' honors of the season, the league announced on Tuesday morning. The graduate student from Ottawa, Ontario, led the Redhawks to a 2-0 week last week with big wins at UT Martin (62-52) and at Little Rock (71-62). Nsabua helped SEMO defeat UT Martin for the first time since 2017 in Martin, Tennessee. She also was lethal from the field on Saturday afternoon in Little Rock. Nsabua finished the game with 22 points on 10-11 shooting. She narrowly missed her SEMO career-high in points (24) in the contest. For the week, Raissa scored 28 points (14.0 PPG), hauled in 16 rebounds (8.0 RPG), dished out seven assists (3.5 APG), and recorded a steal (0.5 SPG) in two games. She finished 13-20 from the field (.650) and 2-4 at the free throw line (.500). Earlier last week, Nsabua eclipsed 200 career assists against UT Martin. She entered the game with 197 career assists and dished out five against the Skyhawks to surpass 200 assists for her career.
 
Money Stripe
SEMO put in a season-high outing on Saturday afternoon at the free throw line. The Redhawks shot an impressive 94.1-percent, missing just one free throw (16-17) all afternoon. Five different Redhawks shot 100-percent at the foul line in Nsabua, Kearra Jones (3-3), Da'Kariya Jackson (4-4), and Zoey Rixter (2-2). 
 
Fourth Most Points
Southeast Missouri also scored its fourth most points in a game this season last Saturday at Little Rock. The Redhawks scored 71 points which they have done four other times this season, narrowly missing their third most points (72) they scored against Tennessee State (12/20) earlier this season. 
 
Mark It Down
Head Coach Briley Palmer secured her third sweep over another OVC foe this past Saturday as the Redhawks completed the season sweep of Little Rock. SEMO defeated LR in Cape Girardeau (67-57) before turning around and beating them in Little Rock (71-62) on Saturday. Palmer has now completed season sweeps over SIUE (2024-25), Eastern Illinois (2025-26), and now Little Rock (2025-26) in just her second season at the helm.
 
Five-Straight
Center Ainaya Williams has scored double-digits off the bench in five-straight games for the Redhawks. The sophomore from St. Louis, Mo. scored 10 points against the Trojans on Saturday afternoon in 22-minutes of action. She has scored 68 points over the last five games, averaging 13.6 PPG in that span. 
 
D1 Win Streak
The Redhawks are currently on a two-game winning streak against division I opponents for the first time this season. With wins over UT Martin and Little Rock this past week, the Redhawks have won two games in a row since William Woods (12/30; NAIA) and Eastern Illinois (1/1). A season ago, the Redhawks went on a three-game winning streak with wins over SIUE (12/21/24), William Woods (12/31/24), and Tennessee State (1/2/25) for the longest winning streak in Coach Palmer's tenure. 
 
Back to Third
The Redhawks, who dipped down to fourth in the league in field goal percentage, are back up to third place in the OVC after their 49.1-percent shooting performance at Little Rock. SEMO is shooting 41.5-percent from the field in 2025-26 and has made 630-of-1519 shots this season.