Southern Illinois University
4-6,1-0MVC
Evansville
5-4,0-1MVC
Salukis use big fourth quarter to down Evansville
12/29/2022 | 8:48:00 | Women's Basketball
Southerns wins 10th-straight MVC opener
EVANSVILLE, IND — The Southern Illinois Salukis used a big fourth quarter to take down Evansville on Thursday in SIU's Missouri Valley Conference opener.
SIU trailed 57-55 heading to the fourth but after more than 45 minutes and 51 total points in the final frame, 31 coming from the Salukis, Southern grabbed the victory with five players in double figures.
The win, Southern's 10th MVC opener victory in a row, is currently the longest streak in the conference after its 86-77 win over the Purple Aces.
Ashley Jones led the way with an efficient 23 points as she went 8-of-11 from the field, knocked down her only triple attempt and went 6-of-7 from the charity stripe.
Laniah Randle (16 points, 8 rebounds), Jaidynn Mason (12 points), Shemera Williams (12 points) and Tyranny Brown (10 points) also had double digits for the Dawgs.
Zoe Belcher was a stat-sheet stuffer for the Salukis as she played nearly 15 minutes off of the bench and had four points, four rebounds, two assists, three steals and two blocks.
In her first game of the season, Williams went 3-of-5 from the field and 6-of-9 from the free-throw line in her Saluki debut. She also pulled down five rebounds and drew seven fouls.
Both teams found their rhythm early on the offensive end as the Salukis were 27-of-51 (52.9%) from the field and 4-of-6 (66.7%) from long range.
Evansville was 24-of-51 (47.1%) for the game and went 23-of-26 (88.5%) from the free-throw line while going just 6-of-18 (33.3%) from 3-point land.
Myia Clark's 25 points led the Purple Aces while Anna Newman also finished in double digits with 17. Abby Feit came into the game averaging 14.4 ppg and 9.0 rpg per game but she was held to just nine points and four boards in the loss.
Southern now looks to Indiana State as the Sycamores are 5-5 on the year and 0-1 in the MVC after falling to Missouri State on Thursday.
The Salukis and Indiana State tip at Noon CST on Saturday at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute.
