Preview | Women's Basketball Set to Take On Indiana State in MVC Tournament Opening Round

MOLINE, Ill. - In the first game of the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, the Southern Illinois University women's basketball team will face No. 9 seed Indiana State at 12 p.m. on Thursday in Moline.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN

The Salukis' first round matchup against the Sycamores can be watched on ESPN+ on Thursday at 12 p.m. Scott Warmann (play-by-play) and Laura Leonard (analyst) will be on the call.
To listen, tune into NewsRadio WJPF 107.9 FM, where Larry Larson will be calling the action.

QUICK HITS

The Salukis enter the MVC Tournament as the eighth seed, posting a record of 6-14 in conference play and 11-19 overall. Southern Illinois has won three games in a row for the first time this season.
Southern Illinois made it to the quarterfinals in last season's tournament before falling to Belmont, who was the league's runner-up.
In its last game, SIU earned its first overtime victory of the season, defeating UIC, 69-65, on Saturday. Quierra Love scored a career-high 27 points, while fellow senior Adrianna Katcher posted her second-straight double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
The winner of Thursday's game will go on to face No. 1 seed Drake, the MVC regular season champions, on Friday at 12 p.m.
SIU finished the regular season fifth in scoring defense, allowing an average of 68.6 points-per-game. On the other side, Southern was eighth in scoring offense (66.0).
During its three-game winning streak, Southern Illinois has held its opponents to under 70 points in each game. SIU is 9-5 when accomplishing this feat.
The Salukis lead the Valley and are 34th in the NCAA in turnovers forced-per-game (19.53).
No team in the conference has allowed fewer three-pointers than SIU at 139. Missouri State is second with 153. Southern is also second in the Valley in opponent three-point percentage (.294).
The Salukis are first in the MVC and 43rd in the country in turnover margin (3.53).
Southern Illinois leads the Valley and is tied for 15th in the NCAA in steals-per-game (11.1). The Salukis have posted 10 or more steals in 18 games and have three players top six 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 (second, 18.7) and rebounding (third, 8.8). Randle is also tied for 14th in total blocks (20) and is fifth in total steals (62). The junior has had 20 or more points in 14 games this season, and four games with over 30, which leads the Valley.
Randle is 41st in the NCAA in scoring, is 65th in rebounding, and is 28th in offensive rebounds-per-game (3.7). The junior forward has 10 double-doubles on the season.
In all of 2022-23, SIU had six total double-doubles. The Salukis have 15 as a team this season. Randle has provided nine of them, Seairra Hughes has three, and Katcher has two.
Jaidynn Mason is second on the team and 12thin the MVC in scoring, averaging 14.1 points to go along with 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.6 steals-per-game, with the steals average leading the conference. Mason has 16 games with 10+ points and has three games with over 20 points
Quierra Love is fifth in the MVC and tied for 92nd in the NCAA in steals-per-game (2.10). Love has posted two or more steals in 15 games, and has at least four steals in seven games. Love is now sixth in career steals (197) at SIU, and is one steal away from tying Molly McDowell for fifth.
Love is seventh in the MVC in assists-per-game (4.0), and is 10th in assist/turnover ratio (1.6).
Adrianna Katcher has posted the first two double-doubles of her career in each of her last two appearances. The senior is also now 11th in the Valley in total blocks (24).

LOOKING AT INDIANA STATE

The Sycamores are the ninth seed in the MVC Tournament, holding a record of 10-20 overall and 6-14 in Valley play.
Indiana State has lost four-straight games and is 0-4 in March. In its last game, ISU, fell, 96-64, vs. Drake on Saturday.
Both Kiley Bess and Mya Glanton scored 14 points in the loss on Senior Day.
Bess leads the Sycamores in scoring, averaging 11.1 points-per-game across 29 appearances.
Keidra Johnson is serving as Indiana State's interim head coach, and has a record of 6-14.

SERIES HISTORY

The Salukis hold a record of 61-47 all-time against the Sycamores and are on a four-game winning streak against Indiana State in the Valley tournament.
This season, the series record is 1-1 between the two programs with both teams winning on the road.

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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