Preview | Women's Basketball Heads to Illinois State on Wednesday

CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois University women's basketball team (6-7, 1-2 MVC) is heading to Normal, Ill., to visit Illinois State at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 10.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN

To watch Wednesday night's game against the Redbirds, tune into ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m. RC McBride (play-by-play) and Kelly Burke (analyst) will have the call.
Larry Larson will have the radio call on NewsRadio WJPF 107.9 FM.

QUICK HITS

Southern Illinois heads into its first Valley road-trip with a record of 6-7 overall and 1-2 in Missouri Valley Conference play.
The Salukis got back-on-track on Saturday, defeating Valparaiso, 75-66, at home. Free shooting led the way for SIU in the victory, as Southern went 26-of-29 at the line for a percentage of 89.7%, both being season-bests.
The 26 free throws made are the most the Salukis have had in a game since Dec. 29, 2022, last season at Evansville, where SIU hit 28 free throws.
Southern forced 22 turnovers on Saturday, the eighth time this season the Salukis have forced over 20 turnovers in a game.
The Salukis lead the Valley and are 23rd in the nation in turnovers forced-per-game (21.23).
SIU is sixth in scoring offense, averaging 67.5 points-per-game. Defensively, Southern is fourth in the MVC (68.1).
The Salukis have allowed the fewest three-pointers in the league at 51. This is 13 fewer than Missouri State's 64, which is the second fewest in the MVC. SIU is also second in opponent three-point field goal percentage (.283) behind Belmont.
Southern Illinois is second in the MVC and 78th in the country in turnover margin (3.31).
SIU leads the Valley and is 22nd in the NCAA in steals-per-game (11.5).

LEADING THE SALUKIS

Laniah Randle is third in the MVC in points (17.5), fourth in rebounds (8.1), eighth in field goal percentage (.515), tied for eighth in total blocks (10), and is tied for fourth in total steals (30). Randle had 24 points on Saturday, her sixth 20-point game of the season.
Randle is 68th in the NCAA in scoring and is tied for 49th in double-doubles (five). The junior forward last posted a double-double on Dec. 17 at Oklahoma State.
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 returned to the starting lineup on Saturday, scoring 16 points while also tallying season-highs in steals (five) and assists (five). Mason is now averaging 14.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.7 steals-per-game. The sophomore has scored in double-figures in five games.
Quierra Love is third in the MVC and tied for 90th in the NCAA in steals (31). Love has posted two or more steals in seven games, and has at least four steals in three games. All-time, Love is now ninth in career steals (165), passing assistant coach Cartaesha Macklin in SIU's last game.
Love is sixth in the Valley in assists-per-game (4.2), and is tied for eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.6).
Paige Clubb had a career-high 11 points in Saturday's win. Clubb has 12 three-pointers made on the year, the second-most on the team behind Love's 20.
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 ILLINOIS STATE

The Redbirds are also off to a 1-2 start in conference play, and are 8-5 overall.
Illinois State has lost back-to-back games to Belmont, 64-52, and Murray State, 90-55. DeAnna Wilson led the Redbirds with 15 points in Saturday's loss.
On the season, Illinois State is averaging 76.3 points-per-game, which ranks third in the MVC. The Redbirds are also top five in scoring defense, allowing 69.0 points-per-contest.
Wilson's 14.5 points-per-game leads Illinois State and ranks sixth in the Valley.
Kristen Gillespie has now led the Redbirds for seven seasons and has posted a record of 119-75 during that time.

SERIES HISTORY

The Salukis are 46-65 all-time against Illinois State. This will be the 112th meeting between the two programs.
Illinois State won both of last season's meetings, and have won three-straight games against the Salukis.

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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