SATURDAY'S SCORES
Rhode Island 66,
Southeast Missouri 49
@Morehead State 59, Presbyterian 54
Grand Canyon 97,
Lindenwood 46
RHODE ISLAND 66, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 49
ORLANDO, Fla. - Kennedi Watkins registered a career-best 21 points as Southeast Missouri women's basketball (2-3) dropped a 66-49 decision to the Atlantic 10's Rhode Island (4-1) Saturday afternoon in its UCF Thanksgiving Classic opener at the Addition Financial Arena.
Watkins, a Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference Selection from Ballwin, Missouri, shot a stellar 8-for-9 from the field with a trio of steals and two boards in 22 minutes on the court.
For Watkins, it was her eighth-straight double-digit game dating back to the 2021-22 campaign and her first 20-plus outing as a Redhawk.
The Rams, who were picked third in the A-10 in this year's preseason poll, took an early 7-2 lead before the Redhawks went on a 12-0 run to double its advantage (14-7) at 4:07 in the opening period.
Kiyley Flowers and Halle Smith hit consecutive triples to make the score 12-7 before a jumper from Watkins.
Rhode Island concluded the first quarter on a 7-0 sequence for an 18-15 edge.
SEMO shot a game-high 67 percent in quarter #1 to finish with a rate of 35 percent. The Rams in comparison were 61.5 percent out of the gates, wrapping the non-conference meeting at 44 percent.
The Rams then took a 22-15 with 6:41 remaining in the first half. Emma Squires, a Preseason A-10 Third Team pick, added a three-pointer to increase the lead to 25-16.
Flowers answered with a bucket before a trey from Watkins trimmed the margin to 25-21 at the 2:40 mark.
Dolly Cairns hit a triple with 24 ticks in the first half for a 30-26 Rhode Island lead at the break.
Watkins had 12 points at halftime and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field during the first quarter.
In the third quarter, Flowers and Rahmena Henderson connected on consecutive buckets to cut the deficit to 37-35.
Watkins then made both of her free throw opportunities before capitalizing on a steal in transition to even the game at 39-39 with 5:10 to play in the third frame.
SEMO then pulled ahead 42-30 at 3:35 in the third as part of a 7-0 run.
URI concluded the third quarter on a 15-1 rally for a 54-43 lead heading to the fourth. The Rams were 50 percent shooting during the quarter.
Rhode Island then took its largest lead of the day, 64-47, with 3:11 remaining in regulation.
Smith, who celebrated her 20th Birthday on Friday, chipped in nine points against the Rams Saturday with three boards. The sophomore from Belle, Missouri, shot 3-for-7 from the field including 2-for-3 from distance.
Flowers chipped in seven points (3-for-8) with four rebounds and a pair of steals. Henderson finished with six points, a team-high nine boards and two steals in 33 minutes.
Sophie Bussard grabbed five boards with two assists.
SEMO was 33.3 percent from distance including 4-for-6 in the opening half.
The Redhawks totaled 20 points in the paint and had 17 points off Rams turnovers.
SEMO's bench outscored URI, 18-14, and had a rebound advantage of 33-28.
Mayé Touré led Rhode Island with 18 points as a trio of Rams finished in double-digits scoring. She was 8-for-13 from the field shooting with five rebounds.
SEMO next concludes its trip to the Sunshine State against Classic host, Central Florida, Sunday afternoon. Tip is set for 1 p.m., CT Sunday at the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida.
MOREHEAD STATE 59, PRESBYTERIAN 54
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State women's basketball team rallied from an 11-point deficit at 46-35 with 3:51 left in the third quarter to beat the Presbyterian Blue Hose 59-54 at home Saturday.
The Eagles had two players score in double figures, led by Veronica Charles, who had 18 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Hallie Rhodes tacked on career-high 14 points, eight rebounds and five steals off of the bench and Sandra Lin added four points, eight assists and three steals.
Morehead State shared the ball well in Saturday's game, racking up 17 assists on 23 made field goals. Lin's eight assists paced the Eagles and Erola Aliberch also helped out with three assists of her own. Morehead State's defense held Presbyterian to only 39.6 percent shooting from the field, including 11.8 percent from beyond the arc.
The Eagles return to Johnson Arena Wednesday evening with a matchup against Brescia (Ky.). Tip-off is slated for 5:00 PM and can be found on ESPN+ or listened to on the Eagle Sports Radio Network.
After playing to a 6-6 tie early in the game, Morehead State went on a 5-0 run with 7:06 left in the first quarter, culminating in a bucket from Charles, to take an 11-6 lead. The Eagles then surrendered that lead and entered the second quarter down 18-15.
Presbyterian kept adding to that lead, building a 30-18 advantage before Morehead State went on a 12-0 run, highlighted by a three from Aliberch, to tie the game at 30, a score that would hold until halftime. Morehead State was strong from deep in the period, knocking down two three-point shots to account for six of its 15 points.
After intermission, Presbyterian snatched a 48-39 lead before Morehead State answered back by going on a 7-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Charles, to trim its deficit to 48-46 with 38 seconds to go in the third. Presbyterian countered and stretched its lead to 50-46 heading into the fourth. Morehead State played well near the basket, scoring eight of its 16 points in the paint.
Morehead State narrowed its deficit to 54-53 before going on a 6-0 run to seize a 59-54 lead with 21 seconds to go in the contest, a score which would hold for the rest of the game. Morehead State took advantage of seven Presbyterian turnovers in the quarter, scoring four points off of those takeaways.
GRAND CANYON 97, LINDENWOOD 46
PHOENIX, Ariz. - The Lindenwood women's basketball team fell to GCU 46-97 in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday evening.
The Lions had an uphill battle with the experienced Lopes, as they came out with plenty of fire on their home court.
Shooting wise, Lindenwood was able to knock down 16-45 of their total attempts from the floor and 8-23 of their theee point attempts. The Lions also drained 6-15 of their free throws throughout the game.
Paige Craft was the Lions' leader of the day with 11 total points, knocking in 3-6 of her attempts from the floor. The sophomore drained both of her three pointers, shooting a perfect 2-2 from behind the arc. Craft also added two rebounds and one steal to her stat line.
Mary McGrath had a nine point night, right behind Craft in line for the leaderboard. McGrath also added eight total rebounds throughout the night, helping the Lions defensively with her efforts.
The Lions will take on Drake on December 1 at their place, continuing their non-conference road stretch. Tip off is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.