Southeast Womens Basketball

Good Sports is a column featured weekly in the Southeast Missourian and on semoball.com. It is primarily designed to showcase people who have impacted the sporting life of Southeast Missouri, so that readers may get to know them more fully. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity...

Halle Smith has a natural curiosity when it comes to solving problems. The Belle High School senior aspires to study psychology in college with the goal of becoming a psychiatrist one day.

The Holt High School girl’s basketball program increased its victory total this past season to 18 wins from 10 wins in the 2018-19 season and an obvious reason as to why was the improved play of junior forward Jaliyah Green.

Athletic leaders throughout our country are taking this time to post their thoughts on the racial strife that has simmered for centuries throughout this country, and ignited on occasion, in wake of the tragic death of Minnesota resident George Floyd.

The Southeast Missouri State women’s basketball program is going to celebrate its most successful season at the NCAA Division I level in a “virtual” manner Thursday. However, make no mistake about it, what the Redhawks accomplished during the 2019-20 season was very, very real.

When Southeast Missouri State athletic director Brady Barke was asked last month what it took to build a successful sport at his institution, he was very specific about the core of what was needed.

“Everybody likes a winner,” has been a fact throughout sports since Neanderthals took part in rock-throwing contests and it remains true today.

Like ripples in a pond following a stone being tossed in, the repercussions of a collegiate coach bartering for more financial security in wake of a successful season are inevitable. And in some regards, Southeast Missouri State women’s basketball coach Rekha Patterson has never found herself in a more advantageous position.

Six years ago, Deanay Watson wasn't playing basketball. Now she's committed to play for Southeast Missouri State University. The 5-foot, 10-inch, third-year sophomore from Bradenton, Fla., led Three Rivers this season with 13.6 points to go with 5.6 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.1 assists per game...

There are no silver linings to the coronavirus. It is not melodramatic to say COVID-19 has reached its microscopic fingers into every nook and cranny of all our lives. It’s an anxious, worrying time – and for good reason. While there is truly no upside to this existential crisis, there are a few compensations...

The only thing more challenging than finding a way to beat the Southeast Missouri State women’s basketball program this past season is to find JUST five pivotal moments within the most successful season in Redhawk history at the NCAA Division I level.

Andy Sawyers is used to the satisfying sound of a bat making solid contact. The sight of a perfectly executed double play pleases him. An outfielder leaving his feet and successfully snaring a line drive brings a smile. Sawyers, in his fourth year as Southeast Missouri State baseball coach, will have to content himself with memories...

Southeast Missouri State athletics director Brady Barke did not mince words Thursday afternoon as he met with assembled media. “It’s a very bad day,” said Barke, Southeast’s A.D. since June 2016. The fear of the spread of COVID-19, the coronavirus, prompted the cancellation of the NCAA women’s and men’s basketball tournaments – considered the most lucrative event in college sports...

Southeast Missouri State’s athletics department is awaiting further word from the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) about what exactly the governing board’s ruling on Wednesday means for the NCAA-bound Redhawks. NCAA president Mark Emmert, in a statement, said the upcoming men’s and women’s basketball tournament will be played next week before largely empty arenas – due to fears about the spread of COVID-19, the coronavirus...

Southeast Missouri State athletic director Brady Barke made it clear recently when discussing the traits he was seeking in the next Redhawks’ men’s basketball coach.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Notes from Saturday's matchup between Southeast Missouri State University and the University of Tennessee-Martin in the women's Ohio Valley Conference final: Rekha Patterson is glad OVC Tournament MVP Tesia Thompson didn’t bolt when the Redhawks coach spoke bluntly to her three years ago. ...

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – After being mere seconds from falling in the opening game of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in Evansville on Thursday, the Southeast Missouri State women’s basketball squad left little doubt about its future over the past 80 minutes of action.

EVANSVILLE, Indiana - In a dominating performance, the Southeast women’s basketball team Saturday ascended the apex of the Ohio Valley Conference mountain for the first time in 13 years. The Redhawks won their first OVC championship since 2007 at the Ford Center in Evansville, defeating No. 1 tournament seed UT-Martin, 67-47...

Southeast Missouri State is within one game of winning an Ohio Valley Conference tournament women’s championship, something SEMO has not done since 2007. The third-seeded Redhawks punched their ticket to the final with a historic 114-99 shootout win over the No. 2 seed, the four-time defending OVC champ Belmont, in Friday’s late semifinal game at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana...

All college students playing Division I basketball at a high level must put the time in to keep up their skills. Southeast’s co-captains Carrie Shephard and Jessie Harshberger know this – which is why they decided to shelve a scheduled day of fun on Monday...

Southeast’s Rekha Patterson was named Friday the women’s basketball coach of the year by the Ohio Valley Conference. Patterson, who is in her fifth year with the Redhawks, wins the honor for the first time. She is only the third SEMO women’s coach to take home the recognition – following John Ishee (2007) and Ed Arnzen (1999)...

For the Southeast women’s basketball squad, the Ohio Valley Conference tournament has grown very large in the windshield. The Redhawks (22-6, 14-3 OVC) have clinched the #3 seed in the March 4-7 league tournament but have one remaining regular season obstacle to overcome...

For a final time this basketball season, twin girls will clean the court surface during media timeouts for Southeast Missouri State Thursday. Lily and Emma Harper will likely dance to songs such as “Cupid Shuffle” inside the Show Me Center while they sweep...

Southeast Missouri State coach Rekha Patterson had the team bus stop at the Lazy Cow Creamery Saturday for a delicious confection on the Redhawks’ trip back to Cape Girardeau. It has become routine for the squad to stop for a treat when they win on the road...

Southeast coach Rekha Patterson likes to use certain phrases to motivate her team. In her profession, there’s nothing at all unusual about this. Redhawks football coach Tom Matukewicz, whose teams have enjoyed back-to-back seasons of winning records, has become known for his “brick-by-brick” philosophy...

The high-flying Southeast women’s basketball team will be in Alabama Thursday to play at Jacksonville State (11-14, 7-7 Ohio Valley Conference) as its regular season rapidly moves toward conclusion. “When we’re on the road,” Redhawks coach Rekha Patterson said, “we imagine we’re already 10 points behind at the opening tip.”...

What a difference a fortnight can make. Two weeks after humbling Jacksonville State (12-14, 8-7 Ohio Valley Conference) with a 27-point win at the Show Me Center, visiting Southeast lost a stunner by 21 Thursday to those same Gamecocks, 72-51, at Pete Matthews Coliseum...

Before the largest crowd to see a Southeast women's basketball game this season, the Redhawks routed SIUE Saturday, 80-59, at the Show Me Center. Four Redhawks were in double figures for the winners, led by junior Tesia Thompson with 23. Carrie Shephard added 19 with three 3-pointers; sophomore Taelour Pruitt added 17, with five of her field goals coming beyond the arc; Roshala Scott finished with 11...

In the space of two days, Southeast Missouri women’s basketball is going from the best team in the Ohio Valley Conference to the worst. After their thrilling 71-69 victory over then-OVC leader UT-Martin Thursday, the Redhawks host league cellar dweller SIU-Edwardsville (3-21, 1-12) Saturday...

Arguably the best women’s basketball player in the Ohio Valley Conference, UT-Martin’s Chelsey Perry, with her team down by a bucket, had the ball in her hands with a chance to win the game for the Skyhawks in the final seconds. With the score 71-69 Southeast, the Show Me Center crowd of 805 held its collective breath, fearing Perry - who had already hit three treys on the night – would hit another and send the faithful home with a crushing defeat...

Southeast coach Rekha Patterson does all but sing the late Aretha Franklin’s signature song, “R-E-S-P-E-C-T,” in describing the record-setting leader of UT-Martin (15-8, 11-1 Ohio Valley Conference), Chelsey Perry. The Skyhawks and Redhawks tangle Thursday at the Show Me Center with first place in the OVC at stake...

Southeast Missouri women scored a double-digit win Saturday over Tennessee Tech at the Show Me Center, 87-72. Tesia Thompson, the junior from Memphis, Tn., led all scorers with 28. Carrie Shepherd, the redshirt senior from South Pemiscot High in Steele, Mo., had 18 including two 3-pointers - both of which she hit in the first quarter. She was 0-for-10 from three-point land thereafter...

Southeast women’s basketball coach Rekha Patterson is aware this weekend’s contest at the Show Me Center is probably the most important game the Redhawks have played so far this year. Southeast (17-5, 9-2 Ohio Valley Conference) faces a team with which it is tied in the OVC standings, Tennessee Tech (14-8, 9-2)...

For the first time in Rekha Patterson’s tenure, the coach of the Redhawks women can see a potential Ohio Valley Conference championship in their sights. Southeast (17-5, 9-2 OVC) got its eighth straight win in romping over Jacksonville State Thursday, 79-52...

On paper, Jacksonville State (10-11, 6-4, Ohio Valley Conference) would not appear to be much competition for the red-hot Southeast women Redhawks. Both teams tangle today at the Show Me Center as Southeast begins a four-game homestand. Southeast (16-5, 8-2 OVC) has vaulted up the league standings to a tie for second with defending OVC champion Belmont...

Southeast won its seventh straight Saturday and completed a perfect two-state road trip by defeating Eastern Kentucky, 60-44. It sure wasn’t as easy as the score indicated. The Redhawks had made a habit of getting out fast and building up a big first quarter lead in recent contests but against the Colonels, Southeast was uncharacteristically cold from the field...

A fan of Southeast women’s basketball always knows when LaTrese Saine is on the court. She wears some pretty impressive goggles as she runs with her teammates. “I need corrective lenses,” said the junior from West Memphis, Ark. “And putting in contacts takes me too long and they freak me out.”...

Southeast Missouri (15-5, 7-2 Ohio Valley Conference) never trailed after the first quarter, yet faded down the stretch in Kentucky Thursday, hanging on to beat Morehead State, 67-61. After a seven-hour road trip that took the women's team into the Eastern Time Zone, Southeast battled Morehead to a 10-10 tie after the opening ten minutes, then opened a 35-23 lead at halftime despite going nearly eight minutes without scoring...

Even in the midst of a five-game winning streak, including two straight road victories, Southeast coach Rekha Patterson doesn’t believe in getting out too far ahead of her skis. Southeast (14-5, 6-2 Ohio Valley Conference) plays today at Morehead State (8-12, 4-4) and to talk to the fifth-year coach, you’d think her Redhawks were the underdog...

Powered by a 17-point performance by junior Tesia Thompson, the fourth leading scorer in the Ohio Valley Conference, the Southeast Missouri women’s team won its fourth in a row Thursday, defeating struggling host SIU-Edwardsville, 66-56. “It was not a pretty game,” said fifth-year head coach Rekha Patterson, “but as someone once said – it’s not how but how many.”...

Southeast, the highest scoring team in the Ohio Valley Conference to-date, finished off a four-game homestand with a convincing 88-73 win over Murray State Saturday. The Redhawks 12-5 (4-2, OVC) were down 10, 41-31, at halftime and looked flat heading into the locker room...

After allowing Austin Peay to get off to a scorching offensive start in Thursday’s Ohio Valley Conference women’s basketball game at the Show Me Center, Southeast Missouri State locked down the visiting Governors defensively in the second quarter and ultimately prevailed easily 81-43.

Southeast expected to win Saturday and delivered a dominating wire-to-wire lopsided home win over Tennessee State, 83-54. Before a crowd of 560 at the Show Me Center, the Redhawks (10-5, 2-2 Ohio Valley Conference) dominated the conference cellar-dweller Tigers (2-12, 0-4)...

Belmont continued its dominance of Southeast women's basketball with a 57-45 win at the Show Me Center. Southeast has not won this season when trailing at halftime, and the trend continued Thursday as Belmont (8-6, 3-0 Ohio Valley Conference) held a two-point edge after 20 minutes, 28-26...

The Redhawks women’s basketball team (9-4, 1-1 Ohio Valley Conference) is off to its best season in coach Rekha Patterson’s five years with the program. Southeast is 4-0 at home and about to begin a four-game homestand at the Show Me Center. Arguably the greatest test of Patterson’s 2019-20 squad so far comes today as Southeast plays host to OVC foe and multiple conference champ Belmont (7-6, 2-0)...