Preview | Women's Basketball Finishes Homestand on Saturday Against Valparaiso

CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois University women's basketball team (5-7, 0-2 MVC) is looking to turn things around on Saturday at 4 p.m. when it hosts Valparaiso at the Banterra Center.

GAME PROMOTION

Saturday's game against Valpo will be Scouts Night. Fans that show up in their scouts uniform can purchase discounted $3.00 tickets to the game.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN

SIU's game against Valpo can be watched on ESPN+ at 4 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

Southern Illinois holds a record of 5-7 overall and 0-2 in Missouri Valley Conference play entering Saturday's game.
In its last game, SIU fell to UIC, 66-59, on Thursday. Southern out-scored the Flames, 32-28, in the first half, but were then out-scored, 38-27, in the final 20 minutes. Four different players scored in double-figures for the Salukis, with Laniah Randle's 16 points leading the way.
Southern forced 24 turnovers in Thursday's contest. This was the seventh time this season the Salukis have forced over 20 turnovers in a game.
The Salukis lead the Valley and are 26th in the nation in turnovers forced-per-game (21.17).
Southern Illinois has been held to fewer than 60 points in three consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 15, 2022 to Jan. 22, 2022. During this stretch, SIU fell to Northern Iowa, 66-57, but defeated Illinois State, 56-47, and Bradley, 53-41.
SIU is sixth in scoring offense, averaging 66.9 points-per-game. Defensively, Southern is fifth in the MVC (68.3).
The Salukis have allowed the fewest three-pointers in the league at 44. This is 16 fewer than Missouri State's 60, which is the second fewest in the MVC. SIU is also second in opponent three-point field goal percentage (.273) behind Belmont. Southern held UIC to 0-for-7 shooting from deep on Thursday.
Southern Illinois is second in the MVC and tied for 68th in the country in turnover margin (3.50).
SIU leads the Valley and is 26th in the NCAA in steals-per-game (11.3).

LEADING THE SALUKIS

Laniah Randle is third in the MVC in points (16.9), third in rebounds (8.3), tied for eighth in field goal percentage (.500), tied for eighth in total blocks (10), and is seventh in total steals (25). Randle also scored the 500th point of her career on Thursday night vs. UIC.
On the NCAA leaderboards, Randle is 78th in scoring, tied for 89th in rebounding, and tied for 43rd in double-doubles (five). The junior forward had posted a double-double in four consecutive games prior to the Salukis' previous two 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.
After missing Saturday's game vs. Drake due to an illness, Jaidynn Mason came off the bench for the second time this season against UIC, scoring 10 points and grabbing a career-high seven rebounds. Mason is now averaging 13.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.3 steals-per-game.
Quierra Love is second in the MVC in steals-per-game (2.5), which is also tied for 52nd in the NCAA. Love has posted two or more steals in seven games, and has at least four steals in three games. All-time, Love is now tied for ninth in career steals (164) at SIU with now assistant coach Cartaesha Macklin.
Love is tied for fourth in the Valley in assists-per-game (4.3), and is tied for sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.6).
Seairra Hughes is shooting .481 from the field, and has shot at least 50% from the field in seven of 12 games. Hughes is also averaging 9.5 points-per-game, and has scored at least 10 points in six games. The junior's 6.1 rebounds-per-game is 17th in the Valley.
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 VALPARAISO

The Beacons come into Carbondale with a record of 1-10 overall and 0-2 in Valley games.
Valparaiso has lost four-straight games, including a 67-47 loss at Missouri State on Thursday. Olivia Brown led the Beacons with 15 points in the loss.
Valpo is averaging 59.0 points-per-game, ranking 12th in the MVC. The Beacons are ninth in scoring defense, allowing 73.5 points on average.
Leah Earnest leads Valpo in scoring, averaging 14.1 points-per-game on 50% shooting from the field.
Mary Evans is in her sixth season as Valparaiso's head coach, and has an overall record of 56-101.

SERIES HISTORY

The Salukis are 7-4 all-time against Valpo, dating back to 2017. This will be the 12th meeting.
SIU won last year's meeting, 77-47, on Feb. 4, 2023 in Carbondale, and has won two of the last three.

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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