Thompson, Saine, earn all-OVC honors as conference tourney nears

Tesia Thompson and LaTrese Saine of the Southeast Missouri State women’s basketball team (15-10, 13-7 OVC) have been named to the All-Ohio Valley Conference First Team as the no. 3 Redhawks prepare to leave Wednesday to defend their OVC title in Evansville, Indiana.

Thompson, still wearing a knee brace from a late February injury, remains unable to practice and is questionable for Thursday’s 3.30 p.m. opening round OVC tilt against no. 6 Murray State (15-10, 12-8).

It is the third straight year for Thompson to be named First Team.

“It feels normal and it’s an honor always,” said Thompson, 21, a native of Memphis, Tennessee, who is first in the league this season in points scored (18.7 ppg) and in offensive rebounds (3.3 rpg).

Thompson was named OVC Tournament MVP in leading SEMO to the 2019-2020 conference championship.

The 5-foot-10 shooting guard sounded resigned Tuesday to the prospect of potentially not being physically able to take the court at the Ford Center.

“Maybe if (the injury) had happened a couple of weeks before, there would be time (to recover),” she said, adding she is dealing with a lot of bruising this week.

Thompson, whom Coach Rekha Patterson has called one of the most productive players ever to wear a SEMO uniform, is third all-time in SEMO history for career points (1,927) and was named OVC Player of the Week twice during the regular season.

Her fellow senior teammate, LaTrese Saine, Southeast’s career leader in blocked shots, joins Thompson in being named First Team but was also honored as the OVC Defensive Player of the Year.

“Defense has always been my game (and) I just took it to the next level this year,” said Saine, 23.

The 6-foot-4 post player from West Memphis, Arkansas, leads the OVC with 94 blocks in 2020-21, 38 more than no. 2 Ariel Kirkwood of Morehead State.

Saine was strong off the glass too, collecting 216 total rebounds, good for second in the OVC.

Southeast’s tallest player showed strength on the other side of the ball, emerging as the Redhawks’ no. 2 scorer with 10.4 ppg.

“I did a lot of work last summer, I’m always in the gym, always looking at film and have learned from past mistakes I’ve made,” said Saine, who – like Thompson – aims to play professionally once her SEMO career is over.

Saine is only the second Redhawk in school history to nab the conference’s best defensive player honor.

The first was Adrianna Murphy, who took the honor for SEMO in the 2017-18 campaign.