Saturday, November 15
Fort Wayne, IN
4 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
at
Purdue Fort Wayne
Purdue Fort Wayne Hands Salukis First Loss of Season
11/15/2025 | 10:22:00 | Women's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois women's basketball (1-1, 0-0) hit the road for the first time this season when they visited Purdue Fort Wayne (2-2, 0-0) Saturday evening. The Mastodons ended up controlling the game from tape-to-tape, defeating SIU 85-60.
Inside the Box Score
How it Happened
First Quarter
After briefly being tied 2-2, an impressive 11-0 run by the Mastodons gave them an 13-2 lead. The Salukis then went on a run of their own to cut the deficit to single-digits, 18-9. Besides a trio of free throws made from Kraus, Fort Wayne did the remainder of the scoring in the quarter, taking a 28-12 lead into the first break.
Second Quarter
The first five points of the second quarter belonged to the Mastodons. Back-to-back layups from Indya Green and Kraus gave SIU a little momentum, but Fort Wayne took care of business at the charity stripe to keep a healthy lead.
SIU's defense did improve in the quarter, holding the Mastodons to no field goals for a near seven-minute stretch. And Southern cut the lead down to 10 with 1:23 remaining in the half thanks to a long distance threeball from Kraus. However, three straight made free throws and a last-second three built Fort Wayne's lead back up to 16, 46-30, heading into halftime.
Third Quarter
The Mastodons found their offensive rhythm again coming out of the halftime break and ballooned their lead up to 19 less than three minutes into the quarter. Kraus' free throw shooting and Nelson's scoring held the lead in check, but SIU could never seriously cut into the deficit.
Eventually, with less than five minutes remaining in the third, 11 straight Fort Wayne points jumped the lead up to 28 points, and, with 29 seconds left on the clock, it increased to 29 points, 72-43. But a late layup from Green with time expiring gave SIU something positive to head into the final break with.
Fourth Quarter
After a Fort Wayne free throw and then back-and-forth layups, the teams went on almost a two-minute scoring draught. Cooper broke that draught with a layup, but the Mastodons responded immediately with one of their own.
Following another lengthy period without either team scoring, Cooper gave herself another two points with a layup, but once again saw Fort Wayne respond immediately. Neither team did much to change the score difference in the closing minutes, and Hiba Malkawi's buzzer-beating three would be the final bucket in SIU's 85-60 loss.
Up Next
After a brief stop in Carbondale, the Salukis turn around and hit the road again to face Missouri on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 6:30 p.m.
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.
Inside the Box Score
- Alayna Kraus followed up her impressive Saluki debut with a 20-point effort in the loss.
- Kayla Cooper and Tkiyah Nelson joined Kraus in double-digit scoring with 15 and 10 points.
- Nelson also added six rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
How it Happened
First Quarter
After briefly being tied 2-2, an impressive 11-0 run by the Mastodons gave them an 13-2 lead. The Salukis then went on a run of their own to cut the deficit to single-digits, 18-9. Besides a trio of free throws made from Kraus, Fort Wayne did the remainder of the scoring in the quarter, taking a 28-12 lead into the first break.
Second Quarter
The first five points of the second quarter belonged to the Mastodons. Back-to-back layups from Indya Green and Kraus gave SIU a little momentum, but Fort Wayne took care of business at the charity stripe to keep a healthy lead.
SIU's defense did improve in the quarter, holding the Mastodons to no field goals for a near seven-minute stretch. And Southern cut the lead down to 10 with 1:23 remaining in the half thanks to a long distance threeball from Kraus. However, three straight made free throws and a last-second three built Fort Wayne's lead back up to 16, 46-30, heading into halftime.
Third Quarter
The Mastodons found their offensive rhythm again coming out of the halftime break and ballooned their lead up to 19 less than three minutes into the quarter. Kraus' free throw shooting and Nelson's scoring held the lead in check, but SIU could never seriously cut into the deficit.
Eventually, with less than five minutes remaining in the third, 11 straight Fort Wayne points jumped the lead up to 28 points, and, with 29 seconds left on the clock, it increased to 29 points, 72-43. But a late layup from Green with time expiring gave SIU something positive to head into the final break with.
Fourth Quarter
After a Fort Wayne free throw and then back-and-forth layups, the teams went on almost a two-minute scoring draught. Cooper broke that draught with a layup, but the Mastodons responded immediately with one of their own.
Following another lengthy period without either team scoring, Cooper gave herself another two points with a layup, but once again saw Fort Wayne respond immediately. Neither team did much to change the score difference in the closing minutes, and Hiba Malkawi's buzzer-beating three would be the final bucket in SIU's 85-60 loss.
Up Next
After a brief stop in Carbondale, the Salukis turn around and hit the road again to face Missouri on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 6:30 p.m.
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.
Players Mentioned
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