Thursday, December 18
Peoria, IL
6 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
2-7,0-1MVC
47
at
64
Bradley
7-4,1-0MVC
1
2
3
4
F
Southern Ill.
7
11
18
11
47
Bradley
10
16
17
21
64
Women’s Basketball Falls to Bradley in Conference Opener
12/18/2025 | 9:20:00 | Women's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Following an 11-day break from game action, Southern Illinois women's basketball (2-7, 0-1) opened Missouri Valley Conference play on Thursday with a trip to Bradley (7-4, 1-0). While the Southern defense performed admirably, the Saluki offense found little success, dropping the match 64-47.
"We did a lot of things we talked about doing; we executed" says assistant coach Greg Brown. "I think we did a lot of good things except finish it."
Inside the Box Score
How it Happened
First Quarter
After a minute of no scoring, the Salukis struck first at the 8:50 mark with a turnaround jumper from Green. Bradley quickly tied things up however and scored the next basket to make it 4-2. A Jeniah Thompson and-one play gave SIU the lead back, and two free-throw makes from Green set the score at 7-4.
Four straight points from the Braves put Bradley back on top 8-7, and a last second bucket gave Bradley a three-point advantage after the first 10 minutes.
Second Quarter
Another minute of scoreless action opened the second quarter before a successful trip to the charity stripe bumped Bradley's lead up to five, 12-7. Kraus hit a jumper to pull the Salukis back within three, but a 6-0 run from Bradley over the next three minutes made it 18-9 with 5:22 left in the half.
Kynnedi Davis broke SIU's scoring draught by scoring through a foul, but another six-point spree from the Braves made it 24-11 2:26 before halftime. Then, Green hit a turnaround shot to close the gap, and an old-fashioned three-point play from Carmen Morales cut the deficit down to eight. The Braves took advantage of a last second foul to tack on two more points, but a full-court pass from Thompson was converted into a basket by Kayla Cooper as the buzzer sounded. As the teams left the court for the locker room, Bradley held a 26-18 lead over Southern.
Third Quarter
The Salukis struck first in the third, but Bradley scored 24 seconds later to keep the score difference the same. Southern would begin to chip away at the 8:18 mark with a Green layup. Bradley could only respond with one free-throw make, and another Green bucket pulled SIU within five, 29-24. Following a Brave timeout, a Kraus layup and free-throw make made it a one-possession game.
Down by just two, Cooper drilled a three at the 6:08 mark to give SIU their first lead since the start of the game. A Brave layup briefly gave them the lead back, but another Kraus layup put Southern atop again. Bradley converted on an and-one to go up by a pair, and another Brave basket made it 36-32 in favor of the home squad.
A pair of free-throw makes and a three-ball grew Bradley's lead to 41-32. Kraus hit a pair of free throws herself to end the Brave's scoring run. Each team would score one more bucket in the third quarter to set the score 43-36 heading into the final 10 minutes of action.
Fourth Quarter
Nearly two minutes passed before a team found the basket, with Kraus hitting two free throws to pull Southern within five. However, Bradley responded with a bucket on the next possession to bump their lead back up to seven. A midrange jumper from Cooper cut it down to five again, but once more, Bradley responded quickly to regain their seven-point lead.
With 6:25 remaining in regulation, Bradley converted on an and-one to make it a double-digit game, 50-40. Green continued her nice game with a jumper to cut it back to single digits, but, as they had been doing all quarter, Bradley hit right back; this time with a three-pointer to set the score at 53-42.
Yet another Green score pulled the deficit back down to nine points. After a prolonged Saluki offensive possession proved fruitless, a Bradley three made it 56-44 before another Green make cut the lead back down to 10. The Braves remained hot from beyond the arc, hitting another threeball to extend the lead to 13.
That three kicked off an 8-1 run by the Braves to close out the game and hand the Salukis a 64-47 loss.
Up Next
The Salukis are action once more before Christmas, hosting Judson on Saturday, December 20, at 12 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.
"We did a lot of things we talked about doing; we executed" says assistant coach Greg Brown. "I think we did a lot of good things except finish it."
Inside the Box Score
- Indya Green led the scoring effort for the Salukis, dropping 16 points. Alayna Kraus joined her in double-digits with 11.
- Karris Allen was the squad's leading rebounder, snagging five boards.
- Tkiyah Nelson dished out three assists while swiping two steals.
How it Happened
First Quarter
After a minute of no scoring, the Salukis struck first at the 8:50 mark with a turnaround jumper from Green. Bradley quickly tied things up however and scored the next basket to make it 4-2. A Jeniah Thompson and-one play gave SIU the lead back, and two free-throw makes from Green set the score at 7-4.
Four straight points from the Braves put Bradley back on top 8-7, and a last second bucket gave Bradley a three-point advantage after the first 10 minutes.
Second Quarter
Another minute of scoreless action opened the second quarter before a successful trip to the charity stripe bumped Bradley's lead up to five, 12-7. Kraus hit a jumper to pull the Salukis back within three, but a 6-0 run from Bradley over the next three minutes made it 18-9 with 5:22 left in the half.
Kynnedi Davis broke SIU's scoring draught by scoring through a foul, but another six-point spree from the Braves made it 24-11 2:26 before halftime. Then, Green hit a turnaround shot to close the gap, and an old-fashioned three-point play from Carmen Morales cut the deficit down to eight. The Braves took advantage of a last second foul to tack on two more points, but a full-court pass from Thompson was converted into a basket by Kayla Cooper as the buzzer sounded. As the teams left the court for the locker room, Bradley held a 26-18 lead over Southern.
Third Quarter
The Salukis struck first in the third, but Bradley scored 24 seconds later to keep the score difference the same. Southern would begin to chip away at the 8:18 mark with a Green layup. Bradley could only respond with one free-throw make, and another Green bucket pulled SIU within five, 29-24. Following a Brave timeout, a Kraus layup and free-throw make made it a one-possession game.
Down by just two, Cooper drilled a three at the 6:08 mark to give SIU their first lead since the start of the game. A Brave layup briefly gave them the lead back, but another Kraus layup put Southern atop again. Bradley converted on an and-one to go up by a pair, and another Brave basket made it 36-32 in favor of the home squad.
A pair of free-throw makes and a three-ball grew Bradley's lead to 41-32. Kraus hit a pair of free throws herself to end the Brave's scoring run. Each team would score one more bucket in the third quarter to set the score 43-36 heading into the final 10 minutes of action.
Fourth Quarter
Nearly two minutes passed before a team found the basket, with Kraus hitting two free throws to pull Southern within five. However, Bradley responded with a bucket on the next possession to bump their lead back up to seven. A midrange jumper from Cooper cut it down to five again, but once more, Bradley responded quickly to regain their seven-point lead.
With 6:25 remaining in regulation, Bradley converted on an and-one to make it a double-digit game, 50-40. Green continued her nice game with a jumper to cut it back to single digits, but, as they had been doing all quarter, Bradley hit right back; this time with a three-pointer to set the score at 53-42.
Yet another Green score pulled the deficit back down to nine points. After a prolonged Saluki offensive possession proved fruitless, a Bradley three made it 56-44 before another Green make cut the lead back down to 10. The Braves remained hot from beyond the arc, hitting another threeball to extend the lead to 13.
That three kicked off an 8-1 run by the Braves to close out the game and hand the Salukis a 64-47 loss.
Up Next
The Salukis are action once more before Christmas, hosting Judson on Saturday, December 20, at 12 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.
Team Stats
SIU
BRAD
FG%
.295
.417
3FG%
.077
.208
FT%
.625
.643
RB
35
47
TO
13
14
STL
7
6
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
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