Southern Illinois University
3-12,1-5MVC
Evansville
5-12,1-5MVC
Recap | Salukis Unable to Slow Down Purple Aces in 85-70 Loss at Evansville on Sunday
01/19/2025 | 3:47:00 | Women's Basketball
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Southern Illinois University women's basketball team (3-12 overall, 1-5 conference) took the loss on Sunday at Evansville, dropping the road contest by a score of 85-70.
The Purple Aces shot 42% from the field, 43% from deep, and 85% (23-of-27) at the free throw line in the win. Evansville scored at least 19 points in all four quarters and at least 21 in three of the four.
Gift Uchenna scored a team-high 26 points with 19 rebounds and seven blocks in the loss.
Evansville came out of the gate firing, scoring 21 points as opposed to SIU's 13. The Aces had a field-goal percentage of 53% in the opening quarter and shot 2-of-5 from beyond the arc. Uchenna was the only Saluki with multiple field goals made in the first 10 minutes, tallying eight points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field.
Southern had a field-goal percentage of 33% (5-of-15) in the opening quarter.
The Salukis' struggles on offense continued in the second, where they were out-scored, 19-12. Southern shot 31% from the field and 20% from deep in the quarter. Evansville's aggressiveness paid off, as it got to the free throw line seven times and went 7-of-7 in the second.
The Aces led, 40-25, at the end of the first half. Southern Illinois had a first half field-goal percentage of 32% and were 25% from three-point range. Uchenna's 12 points and eight rebounds led the way for Southern in the half.
SIU improved offensively in the third quarter, scoring 20 points on 43% field-goal shooting with Isabella Palmqvist's 10 points pacing the Dawgs.
While the Salukis got going on offense, they were unable to prevent Evansville from getting to the free throw line. The Aces shot 10-of-13 at the charity stripe in the third quarter, where they out-scored SIU, 22-20.
Southern's best quarter offensively came in the fourth, as it scored 25 points on 53% shooting from the field and 43% shooting from deep. But for every bucket the Salukis tallied, the Aces had an answer, scoring 23 points while having a field-goal percentage of 50% and three-point percentage of 57%.
At the end of 40 minutes, Evansville was on top, 85-70.
The Salukis posted percentages of 41% from the field, 33% from deep, and 47% at the free throw line in Sunday's defeat.
Behind Uchenna's 26 points, Palmqvist had 19 and Kayla Cooper had 14.
The Salukis will return home on Friday, Jan. 24, at 6 p.m. to host Northern Iowa.
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.
