SEMO WBB coach has found reaching milestone 'is hard'

Southeast Missouri State women's basketball coach Rekha Patterson cheers on her team against Morehead State on Thursday at the Show Me Center.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

It’s been a journey this season for all involved with the Southeast Missouri State women’s basketball program.

The Redhawks snapped a nine-game losing streak on Thursday with a 60-53 win over Morehead State.

And it’s been a journey for seventh-year Rekha Patterson, who won her 100th game as the leader of the program, despite her being in a valley (record-wise) for the first time in her tenure.

“It’s been way harder,” Patterson said of her initial expectations of being a successful head coach. “You have to remember (three years prior to SEMO) I was part of a program that went 40-0 in one season. It is so hard to win. It makes me more appreciative.”

The reason Patterson was hired at SEMO was the fact that, during her time as an assistant coach, she almost never lost, sometimes literally, as she attested.

Eight seasons during her career prior to coming to Cape Girardeau, she was part of teams that won at least 21 games. Three times she experienced seasons of at least 34 victories.

So leading SEMO has been a reality check in some regards.

“It makes me more humble,” Patterson said. “If you get a chance to do this for a long time, and you’re able to have success, it’s hard. Year-in and year-out, it’s hard.

“To see teams stay at the top, it’s so hard to do because so much goes into winning.”

No one understands this more so than Patterson.

The Redhawks won 27 games in the Ohio Valley Conference over the last two seasons, yet just got their first league win on Thursday.

Patterson’s teams have never finished more than one game lower than .500, and for the first time in a long time, appeared in the second half of Thursday’s win to be a team that has a CHANCE to finish with a respectable league mark again.

SEMO (5-15, 1-8 OVC) trailed 28-25 at halftime to the Eagles (1-17, 0-8), who are equally struggling this season. However, SEMO had a mix of veteran experience and youthful athleticism and talent on the floor throughout the second half and raced away with the win.

Over a 16:00 second-half stretch, the Redhawks outscored Morehead State 28-14, and having junior guard Roshala Scott on the floor for the first time in six games was critical.

“Having (Roshala) out there,” Patterson said, “definitely makes a difference. “We missed her.”

The Redhawks’ offense, which was a new one put in place just last week due to the number of players who have missed time this season, was more effective due to Scott’s ability to create offensively for herself.

She scored 10 points and finished with seven rebounds in 25 minutes.

She joined veterans Taelour Pruitt (15 points) and Deanay Watson (12 points, 10 rebounds), along with some precocious first-year players Kennedi Watkins (12 points, nine rebounds), Halle Smith (six rebounds in 21 minutes), and Jaliyah Green (six points, four rebounds in 31 minutes), in a potent lineup that certainly showed potential.

“I saw young ladies out there, determined, to do whatever they could to win,” Patterson said. “Was it perfect? No. But there was great effort.”

Of Patterson’s 12 players, only five have played in all 20 games this season, as she has had to mish-mash lineups (and even implement a new offense). However, if this roster, and an easier schedule (SEMO has played each of the top seven teams in the OVC, including Tennessee State twice, so far), there is hope that brighter days are ahead.

“I can tell that we are maturing,” Patterson said, “because we can say that we are going to different out of a timeout and they are on it. They communicate and they are locked in.

“I was like ‘Oh wow, this is really good.’”

The Redhawks host SIU Edwardsville (8-11, 4-4) on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Two weeks ago, SEMO led the Cougars in Edwardsville by 12 in the second half before falling 73-66.

SEMO is just one win behind eighth-place UT Martin in the OVC standings in a race for the final spot in the OVC Tournament in March.

“We have looked at what is in front of us,” Patterson said. “There is so much good in front of us. At any point in time in this league, every game is pretty competitive. If we keep getting better, play at home and feel the energy of the fans, keep putting in the work, then good stuff can happen.”