The Ohio Valley Conference recognized freshman guard Tesia Thompson as the OVC Freshman of the Week for the second time on Jan. 16. Her other recognition was just two weeks earlier.

The Memphis, Tennessee, native earned her first recognition after scoring 23 points in a 71-66 win at home against Tennessee State on Dec. 30, a career-high for Thompson. According to a report from GoSoutheast, her second recognition was for her all-around performance. Including a game against Belmont early that week, she averaged 22.5 points per game, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals.

Assistant sports information director Wyatt Yearout said he’s nominated Thompson every time for OVC Freshman of the Week. On top of that award, she’s also been nominated for Player of the Week three times, going back and forth with junior guard Adrianna Murphy.

Thompson said both recognitions were unexpected, but she knows she works hard to improve her game.

“Before I got here, I got a lot of awards, but this is different,” Thompson said. “It’s bigger. It just proves how much better I’m getting.”

Coach Rehka Patterson has witnessed Thompson’s strong work ethic. She said that quality combined with her character already placed Thompson in a leadership role on the team.

“Her teammates will look to her to make some plays because we all know she is capable of doing so,” Patterson said. “And they do a good job of making the extra pass to her and feeding off of her energy as well.”

Patterson said Thompson’s talent caught her attention during the recruiting process, where the then-high school senior was ranked 100th in the nation.

According to Patterson, Thompson worked her way into the starting lineup for her first 10 games of her collegiate career, but an ankle injury kept her from the court toward the end of non-conference play. With a busy schedule, she didn’t get time to rest until Christmas, which Thompson and Patterson agree was much needed.

Thompson said adjusting to collegiate basketball was also tough. She said it took the majority of the 14 non-conference games for her to figure out how to adjust before conference play started.

“The game’s faster; the girls are tougher, they are more experienced than I am,” Thompson said.

As a two-time OVC Freshman of the Week award winner, Thompson doesn’t necessarily have OVC Freshman of the Year at the front of her mind. She is more focused on helping her team get to Evansville, Indiana, for the OVC Tournament.

However, she said winning OVC Freshman of the Year would mean the most to her family, especially her mother and godmother. They have gone above and beyond for her this season, including attending all her games -- home and away.

“They’ve been my biggest supporters in my life,” she said. “They are always there, and they cheer when I get stuff like [OVC Freshman of the Week].”

Thompson refers also to her team for constantly supporting her and for being her second family. Her favorite memory of the season has been the get-togethers with the team at Patterson’s house. While it’s all business on the court, she said those moments are the times she can have fun and be normal with her teammates.

Thompson and the rest of the Redhawks travel to take on the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles on Thursday, Jan. 25, at 5:30 p.m and then to Jacksonville State to face the Gamecocks at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 27. Southeast returns home to face Murray State at the Show Me Center at 5:15 p.m. Feb 1.