Southeast Missouri State University’s Women’s Basketball freshmen, guard Deajah Richmond, Guard Indiya Bowen and forward Amiya Buchanan are setting the standard of what it means to be a SEMO Basketball player.

A common theme among these freshmen is the hard work that they put in during their highschool years of basketball.

“Before I came to college I was working out mostly everyday, even on the weekends. Sometimes I would have two-a-days and the transition has been a little different,” Richmond said.

For Bowen, the transition from highschool to college basketball felt normal.

“It feels the same for me, I always lived in the gym, I have always followed college workouts, and have always trained with people who have experience so it is not a major change,” Bowen said.

Head coach Rekha Patterson tells her recruits from the start that players have to work for their spot on the court and have to prove themselves to gain playing time.

“There is some trust there because they [Richmond, Bowen, and Buchanan] have competed in practice, they bring really good energy and that's really why they have been able to play so much and have been a significant contributor for us,” Patterson said.

These three freshmen stood out to Coach Patterson in many different ways.

Richmond is averaging 19.6 minutes, and 7.5 points per game. She is also third on the team in steals per game, with 1.2 per game.

“I think Daejah’s athleticism and her speed and her defensive ability made her stand out,” Patterson said.

“During a certain point of the year, Indiya Bowen is an all around player who can shoot it. She can hit the pull up, she can get to the basket, she's also a very strong defender,” Patterson said.

Bowen plays an average of 20.7 minutes per game as well as being third on the team with 7.9 point average. Bowen also leads the team in free-throw percentage at 84.2% and is second on the team in steals at 1.3 per game

Amiyah Buchanan averages 20.1 minutes per game, along with the highest rebound average with 4.5 per game game. Buchanan also leads the team in total blocks with 15.

“Buchanan is an athletic post player who can defend bigger posts in our league, smaller posts in our league and so she has some versatility there. Again, she fits our style defensively,” Patterson said.

The Redhawks next game is a conference matchup against Tennessee State University Saturday, Feb. 10 at 1:30pm at the Show Me Center.