Preview | Women's Basketball Set for Road Clash with Northern Iowa on Thursday

CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois University women's basketball team (8-16, 3-11 MVC) will travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to visit Northern Iowa on Thursday at 6 p.m.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN

To watch the Salukis face the Panthers, tune into ESPN+ at 6 p.m., where Eric Braley (play-by-play) and Adam DeJoode (analyst) will be on the call.
Larry Larson will be doing the broadcasting duties on NewsRadio WJPF 107.9 FM.

QUICK HITS

Southern Illinois heads into Thursday's game with a record of 8-16 overall and 3-11 in MVC play. The Salukis will play their third game of a four-game road trip at UNI, the longest road trip of the season.
SIU ended its six-game losing streak in its last game, defeating Indiana State, 80-70, on Feb. 17.
Laniah Randle not only scored a career-high 36 points on Saturday, but Randle also posted the third most points in a single game in SIU program history and the most in a game in the MVC this season.
Randle was named the MVC Player of the Week for the second time in her career and this season on Tuesday. The junior averaged 34.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals-per-game last week.
SIU is eighth in the MVC in scoring offense (67.6) and fifth in scoring defense (69.2).
Southern is first in the conference and 21st in the country in turnovers forced-per-game (20.7).
No team in the conference has allowed fewer three-pointers than SIU at 107. Missouri State is second with 124. Southern is also second in the Valley in opponent three-point percentage (.296).
The Salukis are first in the MVC and 39th in the country in turnover margin (4.22).
Southern Illinois leads the Valley and is ninth in the NCAA in steals-per-game (11.8). The Salukis have posted 10 or more steals in 16 games and have three players top five in the league in steals-per-game.

LEADING THE SALUKIS

Laniah Randle is the only player in the MVC to be top three in both scoring (tied for first, 19.0) and rebounding (second, 8.8). Randle is also tied for 13th in total blocks (18) and third in total steals (52). The junior has had 20 or more points in 12 games this season, and three games with over 30 including in both of her last two outings.
Randle is 32nd in the NCAA in scoring, tied for 63rd in rebounding, and 23rd in offensive rebounds-per-game (3.8). The junior forward has nine double-doubles on the season, which is tied for 44th in the country.
In all of 2022-23, SIU had six total double-doubles. The Salukis have 12 as a team this season. Randle has provided nine of them, while Hughes has the other three.
Jaidynn Mason is second on the team and ninth in the MVC in scoring, averaging 14.1 points to go along with 3.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.7 steals-per-game, with the steals average leading the conference. Mason posted her 13th game with 10+ points on Saturday, and has three games with over 20 points on the year.
Quierra Love is tied for third in the MVC and tied for 82nd in the NCAA in steals-per-game (2.2). Love has posted two or more steals in 12 games, and has at least four steals in six games. The senior is now seventh all-time in career steals (186) at SIU, surpassing D.D. Plab with two steals on Feb. 9.
Love is third in the Valley in assists-per-game (4.1), and is tied for seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.7).
Hughes had her third double-double of the season at Evansville last Thursday, scoring 18 points with 12 rebounds. The junior is 15th in the MVC in rebounds-per-game.
The Salukis' roster is made up of three seniors, five juniors, one sophomore, and three freshmen. SIU's three seniors are Love, Adrianna Katcher, and Sydney Prochaska.

LOOKING AT NORTHERN IOWA

The Panthers are 10-13 overall, but 9-5 in Valley play. UNI sits in fifth place in the league.
Northern Iowa is coming off of a close battle against Murray State in its last game on Feb. 17, where the Panthers defeated the Racers, 89-87. In the win, head coach Tanya Warren won her 202nd conference game, the most in MVC history. The Panthers came back from an 18-point deficit, which marked the largest comeback in the Tanya Warren era.
UNI is fourth in the conference in scoring offense (72.8) and ninth in scoring defense (72.7).
Grace Boffeli is sixth in the league in scoring (15.9) and third in rebounding (8.5).
Warren is in her 17th season as UNI's head coach and has a record of 316-224.

SERIES HISTORY

Southern Illinois is 35-48 all-time vs. UNI and has lost two-straight games against the Panthers.
Northern Iowa defeated the Salukis in both matchups last season. In the first meeting, UNI won, 91-84, in Carbondale on Jan. 28, 2023, then the second one, 85-76, in Cedar Falls on March 2, 2023.

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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