Southern Illinois University
Chicago State
Salukis return to Banterra Center to take on Chicago State
11/30/2022 | 12:26:00 | Women's Basketball
The Salukis return to Banterra Center on Thursday after going 1-1 at the Christmas City Classic in Bethlehem, Pa., last weekend.
Southern will take on Chicago State at 6 p.m. as it just has three non-conference matchups remaining with Missouri Valley Conference play starting Dec. 29 at Evansville.
Last weekend at Lehigh, SIU went 1-1 after it picked up its first win of the season against the host Mountain Hawks on Saturday but fell to Kent State on Sunday in the tournament title.
Ashley Jones and Promise Taylor were named to the All-Tournament Team as Saturday was also the first win of the Kelly Bond-White era at Southern Illinois.
Next in the sights of the Dawgs is the Chicago State Cougars as they are still looking for their first win of the season.
Chicago State (0-8) has fallen to three MVC foes this season in Evansville (82-57), Illinois-Chicago (87-62) and Indiana State (68-43) in their most recent defeat.
Tae'lor Willard leads the way for the Cougars with 12 ppg this season in three games while Janiah Newell is right behind her at 11.6 ppg. Josie Hill leads Chicago State in the post with 7.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg and 1.4 bpg.
In their loss to Indiana State on Tuesday, Hill (9 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks) led the way while Ana Haklicka pulled down 10 rebounds and dished out five assists.
Andrea Williams was named the head coach of the Cougars in July and has more than 25 years of coaching experience, across multiple divisions. Prior to being named the head coach at Chicago State, Williams was the head coach at Division II Fort Valley State for three seasons.
Southern Illinois comes into Thursday's matchup hoping to build off of its 32-point performance in Sunday's tournament final when they were dealt a 20-point deficit in the second half but cut it to six in the final minutes.
Jones leads the Salukis with 12.4 ppg in four starts this season as she's also second on the team in triples made with nine on the season. Tyranny Brown (10.3 ppg) and Promise Taylor (10.3 ppg) are also averaging double digits for Southern.
Quierra Love has been running the offense in Bond-White's first year and has dished out 27 assists over the first six games of the year and has 10 steals. Freshman Jaidynn Mason is at 8.3 ppg and leads the team with 15 steals on the year. Sophomore Laniah Randle is averaging 8.2 ppg and 6.5 rpg as she logged her first collegiate double-double in Saturday's win.
Southern Illinois and Chicago State tip at 6 p.m. Thursday inside the Banterra Center.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_WBasketball, on Instagram at @SIU_WBasketball and on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiAthletics. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
