Preview | Women's Basketball Opens MVC Play Against Drake on Saturday

CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois University women's basketball team (5-5) is set to begin Missouri Valley Conference action on Saturday at 1 p.m. when it hosts Drake at the Banterra Center.

PROMO CODE "THREE"

Tickets can be purchased for $3.00 with the promo code "THREE". To get these tickets, click here.
Fans who purchased a ticket to the men's basketball game vs. UIC later that night can bring that to the women's game and get in for free.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN

The MVC opener can be watched on ESPN+ at 1 p.m. Dominic Hoscher (play-by-play) and Mike Trude (analyst) will have the call.
Larry Larson will have the radio call on NewsRadio WJPF 107.9 FM.

QUICK HITS

The Salukis enter their final game of 2023 with an overall record of 5-5. The five wins are the most SIU has had in non-conference play since the 2021-22 season, where it also started 5-5.
After starting the season with a record of 1-3, the Salukis have won four of their last six games and two of their last three.
Southern Illinois has held three of its opponents to fewer than 60 points. This happened six times in all of 2022-23.
In its last game, SIU fell on the road at Oklahoma State, 76-58, on Dec. 17. Laniah Randle paced the Salukis with 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting in the loss.
The Salukis' 5-5 record has them sitting in seventh place in the Missouri Valley Conference heading into the first Valley game of the season.
Southern Illinois is top five in both scoring offense (fifth, 68.5) and defense (fourth, 67.5) in the MVC. Only UIC and Illinois State also rank top five in both categories.
SIU has been strong against the three to start the year, ranking second in the Valley in three-point percentage defense (.281). This ranks 88th in the NCAA.
Southern Illinois is second in the conference in turnover margin (2.50) and turnovers forced-per-game (20.1), which is also 40th in the country.
The Salukis are third in the MVC and tied for 42nd in the nation in steals-per-game (10.60). SIU is also fourth in the MVC in blocks-per-game (2.90).

LEADING THE SALUKIS

Laniah Randle has been one of the Valley's top players to start 2023-24. Randle is third in scoring (17.6), first in rebounding (9.3), sixth in field goal percentage (.518), tied for fifth in total blocks (10), and is sixth in total steals (20).
On the NCAA leaderboards, Randle is 64th in scoring, 42nd in rebounding, and tied for 28th in double-doubles (five). The junior forward has posted a double-double in four consecutive games.
In all of 2022-23, SIU had six total double-doubles. The Salukis already have seven as a team this season. Randle has provided five of them, while Hughes has the other two.
Jaidynn Mason has played in five games for SIU so far in 2023-24, averaging 14.6 points, 2.4 steals, and 2.8 assists-per-game. Mason has scored in double-figures in three of five games.
Quierra Love is thrd in the MVC in steals-per-game (2.3), which is also tied for 81st in the NCAA. Love has posted two or more steals in five games, and snapped a two-game steal-less drought against OSU. All-time, Love is now tied for 10th in career steals (157) at SIU.
Love is fourth in the Valley in assists-per-game (4.5), and is tied for eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.6). The senior has tallied multiple assists in every game she has played this season.
Seairra Hughes is shooting .565 from the field, and has shot at least 50% from the field in seven of 10 games. Hughes is also averaging 11.1 points-per-game, and has scored at least 10 points in six games.
The Salukis' roster is made up of four seniors, five juniors, one sophomore, and three freshmen. SIU's four seniors are Love, Shemera Williams, Adrianna Katcher, and Sydney Prochaska.

LOOKING AT DRAKE

Drake heads into conference play with an overall record of 7-4, good enough for fifth in the Valley.
The Bulldogs defeated North Dakota, 108-60, in their last game on Dec. 21. This was the first time the program has scored over 100 points since the 2021-22 campaign.
Only Murray State (94.2) is averaging more points-per-game than Drake (83.0) so far this season in the MVC. The Bulldogs are 17th in the country in scoring offense.
Drake leads the Valley in field goal percentage (.492), free throw percentage (.808), blocks-per-game (5.00), and in assists-per-game (19.09), and is also second in three-point percentage (.353).
The Bulldogs are led by Katie Dinnebier, who is averaging 19.3 points-per-game, ranking second in the MVC and 40th in the NCAA.
Allison Pohlman is in her third season as Drake's head coach. Pohlman has tallied two 20+ win seasons while at the helm of the Bulldogs program.

SERIES HISTORY

• The Salukis are 30-67 all-time vs. Drake. This will be the 98th meeting between the two programs.

FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
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.

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