Saturday, January 4
Carbondale, IL
2 PM
Southern Illinois University
2-10,0-3MVC
66
vs
79
Belmont
7-7,2-1MVC
1
2
3
4
F
Belmont
19
18
23
19
79
Southern Ill.
18
16
20
12
66
Recap | Belmont Pulls Away Late as SIU Falls, 79-66
01/04/2025 | 5:00:00 | Women's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois University women's basketball team (2-10 overall, 0-3 conference) came up short on Saturday against Belmont, falling by a final score of 79-66.
"We executed our offense and we limited our turnovers in the first half, and that's what kept us in the game," head coach Kelly Bond-White said. "I thought we had a fight to us."
After a strong 60% field-goal shooting third quarter where Southern Illinois scored 20 points, it was out-scored, 19-12, in the fourth as the Bruins closed out the game. Southern was led by Gift Uchenna, who tallied 16 points and 17 rebounds with one steal and one block.
It was an evenly played first quarter in Carbondale on Saturday, as Belmont led 19-18 after the opening 10 minutes. The Bruins shot 50% from the field in the quarter, but shot 29% from deep while the Salukis went 2-of-3. Both Isabella Palmqvist and Tyranny Brown had three pointers in the first quarter.
Tkiyah Nelson and Jeniah Thompson led Southern with four points each to begin the game.
The game remained tight in the second quarter, with the visitors having the 18-16 advantage. The Salukis again hit two three pointers in the quarter, which were supplied by Kayla Cooper and Alice Curman.
As a team, SIU shot 32% from the field, 40% from deep, and went 2-of-2 at the free throw line in the second quarter. Uchenna paced the Salukis with six points and six rebounds in the opening half.
Through 20 minutes, Belmont had the 37-34 lead. The Bruins had a field-goal percentage of 47% and a three-point percentage of 29% in the first two quarters.
The Salukis had their top offensive performance of the day in the third quarter, scoring 20 points on 60% shooting from the field. Nelson had six points, while both Cooper and Se'Quoia Allmond had five points each.
Despite the offensive success, Southern struggled to slow down the Belmont offense in the third. The Bruins scored 23 points on 57% field-goal shooting and 71% three-point shooting while also going 2-for-2 at the line. Heading into the fourth, Belmont led, 60-54.
Belmont closed out the game with strong defense against the Salukis, holding the hosts to 12 points on 23% shooting from the field in the fourth quarter. On the other end, the Bruins scored 19 points while going 6-of-12 from the field to secure the 79-66 win.
Four players scored in double figures for SIU on Saturday, as Uchenna had 16, Nelson had 11, and both Thompson and Cooper posted 10 points each,
The Salukis are now 0-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference, and will head to Missouri State on Sunday, Jan. 12, at 2 p.m. in their 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 executed our offense and we limited our turnovers in the first half, and that's what kept us in the game," head coach Kelly Bond-White said. "I thought we had a fight to us."
After a strong 60% field-goal shooting third quarter where Southern Illinois scored 20 points, it was out-scored, 19-12, in the fourth as the Bruins closed out the game. Southern was led by Gift Uchenna, who tallied 16 points and 17 rebounds with one steal and one block.
It was an evenly played first quarter in Carbondale on Saturday, as Belmont led 19-18 after the opening 10 minutes. The Bruins shot 50% from the field in the quarter, but shot 29% from deep while the Salukis went 2-of-3. Both Isabella Palmqvist and Tyranny Brown had three pointers in the first quarter.
Tkiyah Nelson and Jeniah Thompson led Southern with four points each to begin the game.
The game remained tight in the second quarter, with the visitors having the 18-16 advantage. The Salukis again hit two three pointers in the quarter, which were supplied by Kayla Cooper and Alice Curman.
As a team, SIU shot 32% from the field, 40% from deep, and went 2-of-2 at the free throw line in the second quarter. Uchenna paced the Salukis with six points and six rebounds in the opening half.
Through 20 minutes, Belmont had the 37-34 lead. The Bruins had a field-goal percentage of 47% and a three-point percentage of 29% in the first two quarters.
The Salukis had their top offensive performance of the day in the third quarter, scoring 20 points on 60% shooting from the field. Nelson had six points, while both Cooper and Se'Quoia Allmond had five points each.
Despite the offensive success, Southern struggled to slow down the Belmont offense in the third. The Bruins scored 23 points on 57% field-goal shooting and 71% three-point shooting while also going 2-for-2 at the line. Heading into the fourth, Belmont led, 60-54.
Belmont closed out the game with strong defense against the Salukis, holding the hosts to 12 points on 23% shooting from the field in the fourth quarter. On the other end, the Bruins scored 19 points while going 6-of-12 from the field to secure the 79-66 win.
Four players scored in double figures for SIU on Saturday, as Uchenna had 16, Nelson had 11, and both Thompson and Cooper posted 10 points each,
The Salukis are now 0-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference, and will head to Missouri State on Sunday, Jan. 12, at 2 p.m. in their 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
BEL
SIU
FG%
.500
.375
3FG%
.409
.353
FT%
.737
.800
RB
34
39
TO
17
18
STL
10
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
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