Thursday, January 2
Carbondale, IL
6 PM
Southern Illinois University
2-9,0-2MVC
69
vs
93
Murray State
8-3,2-0MVC
1
2
3
4
F
Murray St.
26
20
31
16
93
Southern Ill.
18
16
19
16
69
Recap | Salukis Suffer 93-69 Loss vs. Murray State on Thursday
01/02/2025 | 8:43:00 | Women's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois University women's basketball team (2-9 overall, 0-2 conference) was unable to slow down a high-powered Murray State offense on Thursday night, falling by a final score of 93-69.
"We knew it would be difficult, we had a couple different schemes to try to slow them down," head coach Kelly Bond-White said. "We finally started doing it in the second quarter and it worked a little bit, but they got it revved back up in the third."
Murray State, who was second in the nation in three-pointers made-per-game entering the night (11.2), hit 13 three pointers on a 37% clip while also shooting 51% from the field. On the other side, SIU shot 42% from the field and 36% from deep in the loss. Kayla Cooper's 19 points and four steals led the way for the Salukis, followed by Gift Uchenna's fourth-straight double-double (12 points and 12 rebounds).
Heading into the first media timeout, SIU held a 9-8 lead after Jeniah Thompson sank a three-pointer to give the hosts the advantage. After the stoppage, however, Murray State went on a 18-9 run to take a 26-18 lead and didn't look back, leading the rest of the game.
In the second quarter, Murray State remained hot, scoring 20 points on 56% shooting from the field, but went just 2-of-8 from deep. While SIU was efficient from three-point range in the quarter, going 2-for-4, it was unable to find consistency from the field, going 5-for-18 at 28%.
At the half, the Racers led by a score of 46-34.
The biggest offensive performance of the day for Murray State came in the third quarter, out-scoring Southern Illinois, 31-19. The Racers shot a blistering 69% from the field and posted a three-point percentage of 56%. Southern shot an improved 47% from the field in the third, but still trailed, 75-53.
Both teams emptied their benches in the fourth quarter, where SIU posted a team-best field-goal percentage of 50%. Murray State and Southern Illinois both scored 16 points in the quarter, leading to a 93-69 final score.
Cooper's 19 points are a career-high, while Uchenna's double-double is her seventh of the season, which ranks inside the top 20 in the NCAA.
SIU, now 0-2 in Missouri Valley Conference play, will host Belmont on Saturday at 2 p.m. in its next game.
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.
"We knew it would be difficult, we had a couple different schemes to try to slow them down," head coach Kelly Bond-White said. "We finally started doing it in the second quarter and it worked a little bit, but they got it revved back up in the third."
Murray State, who was second in the nation in three-pointers made-per-game entering the night (11.2), hit 13 three pointers on a 37% clip while also shooting 51% from the field. On the other side, SIU shot 42% from the field and 36% from deep in the loss. Kayla Cooper's 19 points and four steals led the way for the Salukis, followed by Gift Uchenna's fourth-straight double-double (12 points and 12 rebounds).
Heading into the first media timeout, SIU held a 9-8 lead after Jeniah Thompson sank a three-pointer to give the hosts the advantage. After the stoppage, however, Murray State went on a 18-9 run to take a 26-18 lead and didn't look back, leading the rest of the game.
In the second quarter, Murray State remained hot, scoring 20 points on 56% shooting from the field, but went just 2-of-8 from deep. While SIU was efficient from three-point range in the quarter, going 2-for-4, it was unable to find consistency from the field, going 5-for-18 at 28%.
At the half, the Racers led by a score of 46-34.
The biggest offensive performance of the day for Murray State came in the third quarter, out-scoring Southern Illinois, 31-19. The Racers shot a blistering 69% from the field and posted a three-point percentage of 56%. Southern shot an improved 47% from the field in the third, but still trailed, 75-53.
Both teams emptied their benches in the fourth quarter, where SIU posted a team-best field-goal percentage of 50%. Murray State and Southern Illinois both scored 16 points in the quarter, leading to a 93-69 final score.
Cooper's 19 points are a career-high, while Uchenna's double-double is her seventh of the season, which ranks inside the top 20 in the NCAA.
SIU, now 0-2 in Missouri Valley Conference play, will host Belmont on Saturday at 2 p.m. in its next game.
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.
Team Stats
MUR
SIU
FG%
.514
.422
3FG%
.371
.357
FT%
.533
.625
RB
40
36
TO
17
21
STL
8
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
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