Another home rout

No championship trophy is being awarded during the HealthPoint Plaza Thanksgiving Classic hosted by Southeast Missouri State University.

But there will be a clear-cut winner of the four-team women's basketball event that concludes today at the Show Me Center.

That's because Southeast and Illinois-Chicago, who were already scheduled to square off at 4 p.m. today, both won their games on Friday as the Thanksgiving Classic got under way.

Southeast cruised past Texas Southern 90-60, following a 55-41 win by Illinois-Chicago over Arkansas-Little Rock. Texas Southern and Arkansas-Little Rock square off at 2 p.m today in the unofficial third-place game.

"I expect a good game with Illinois-Chicago," Southeast coach B.J. Smith said. "And I'm glad they won because this will basically be the championship game."

Southeast (2-1) posted its second straight lopsided victory after a season-opening loss at 21st-ranked Oklahoma -- and Smith continues to be impressed by the way his new-look squad is coming together.

"I was pretty pleased because I think Texas Southern is a good team," Smith said, noting that the Tigers were highly competitive with Wichita State during a season-opening loss. "Defensively, they get after you and don't give you anything easy.

"To have 11 new players, I was pleased. When our ball movement was good, it was pretty to watch. We don't look like a team with 11 new players right now. We're inconsistent, but we're getting there, and the thing I really like about this group is how hard they work."

Six Southeast players reached double figures in scoring, with five of those being junior college transfers.

Forward Natalie Purcell led the way with 13 points, while guard Katrisha Dunn and forward Simone Jackson followed with 12 points apiece. Guard Wanika Owsley added 11 points and center Tatiana Conceicao contributed 10.

Senior guard Brandi Russia, one of four returning players, scored 11 points.

"We're a balanced team," said Owsley, named the Copi-Rite player of the game as she added five assists and four steals. "That's one of the good things about this team."

Owsley agrees with Smith that Southeast is fast coming together as a team, although there is still a long way to go.

"We're learning how everybody plays," Owsley said. "We've still got a lot to work on, but I think we're starting to come together."

Conceicao and Purcell have reached double figures in all three games as they lead Southeast in scoring.

But Friday marked the first time for Jackson and Owsley to hit double figures, while for Dunn it was her second such performance.

"We've got some other people who can score, and that's going to be a key for us," Smith said.

Russia, who tied Conceicao for team-high rebounding honors with six and matched Owsley's four assists, is off to a solid start this year as she ranks third on the squad in scoring.

Russia and junior guard Tiffanne Ryan, another returning player, did not miss a shot while scoring nine and seven points, respectively, in the first half to help Southeast open up a 46-25 lead. Dunn had eight points and Owsley seven in the period. Southeast cruised in the second half, never leading by less than 17 points.

"Brandi is playing well and Tiffanne is just solid," Smith said.

Southeast's pressure defense helped force 36 turnovers, after Southeast came up with 38 turnovers in its previous game.

Victoria Jones led Texas Southern (0-2) with 16 points. Jennifer Hickmon added 15.

In Friday's other game, Illinois-Chicago (1-2) got 16 points from Krystal Hugelier and 11 from Jacquay Holmes during its win over Arkansas-Little Rock. The Trojans (0-3) were led by Jocelyn Love's 20 points.