Preview | Women's Basketball Set to Face No. 5 Illinois State in First Round on Thursday

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The 12th seeded Southern Illinois University women's basketball team (4-25 overall, 2-18 conference) will take on the fifth seeded Illinois State Redbirds on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. in the opening round of the Credit Union 1 Missouri Valley Conference tournament.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN

The Salukis' game against the Redbirds, their third meeting of the season, can be watched on ESPN+ on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Brad Wells (play-by-play) and Jacqui Kalin (analyst) will have the call.
Larry Larson will have the radio call on NewsRadio WJPF 107.9 FM for the first round fixture.

QUICK HITS

Southern Illinois concluded the regular season with a record of 4-25 overall and 2-18 in conference play.
In its last game, Southern scored 86 points in a 99-86 loss against Illinois State on Saturday. This was the highest point total of the season for SIU, and its most points since scoring 89 points at Evansville on Feb. 15, 2024.
The winner of Thursday's matchup between the Salukis and Redbirds will go on to face No. 4 Drake on Friday at 2:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals.
Southern finished the regular season with its best rebounding average since the 2018-19 season, averaging 36.5 rebounds-per-game.
On Thursday, SIU will look to earn a win in the first round for the first time since 2022-23 when it defeated Indiana State. Last season, the Salukis fell to the Sycamores in the opening round, 66-54.
SIU last reached the semifinals in 2021-22. After winning the MVC regular season title, the Salukis beat Indiana State in the quarterfinals before losing to Illinois State in the semifinals.
Southern Illinois enters the tournament third in the MVC in offensive rebounding (12.6) and has had double-digit offensive boards in 22 games.
SIU leads the conference and is tied for 56th in the NCAA in blocks-per-game (4.0). The Salukis have had at least three blocks in 21 games. Its season-high, nine, has been reached twice, most recently on March 1 at Murray State. The Salukis also had nine blocks on Feb. 13 vs. Missouri State.

LEADING THE SALUKIS

Gift Uchenna has set new SIU single-season records in rebounds-per-game (12.7) and total rebounds (369). Uchenna's 62 blocks are also the fourth-most in program history in a single-season. The junior is second in the nation in rebounding, third in offensive rebounding (4.8), 22nd in blocks-per-game (2.14), and is third in double doubles (20).
Kayla Cooper had a career-high 23 points in SIU's last game against Illinois State on Saturday. Cooper has scored over 20 points twice this season, both times coming against Illinois State (had 21 on the road vs. the Redbirds on Jan. 31). The sophomore played over 37 minutes on Saturday, and is now ninth in the league in minutes-per-game (32.4) and, on the defensive end, is 11th in steals (41).
Isabella Palmqvist has made 40 three pointers, the eighth-most by an SIU freshman in program history. They are also the most by a Saluki freshman since Makenzie Silvey made 52 shots from deep in 2017-18. After coming off the bench for Southern's first four conference games, Palmqvist has started in every game since for the Salukis.
Tkiyah Nelson has had a tied for career-high four steals in back-to-back games. The sophomore has had multiple steals in 14 games, and four steals in four games. Nelson is 10th in the conference in both steals-per-game (1.6) and total steals (46). The 46 steals are tied for the sixth-most by a sophomore in program history (Dana Fitzpatrick in 1987 and Erica Smith in 2007).
Tyranny Brown was one of the three seniors that was honored on Senior Day on Saturday vs. Illinois State. Brown is the lone remaining member of the 2021-22 MVC Regular Season Championship team still on the roster. Se'Quoia Allmond and Jeniah Thompson were also honored, but are out due to injury for Southern Illinois.

LOOKING AT ILLINOIS STATE

The Redbirds earned the fifth seed after going 14-6 in conference play and 20-11 overall. This marks the third consecutive 20-win season for Illinois State.
After defeating SIU on Saturday, the Redbirds have won three of their last four games and six of their last eight. In neutral settings, Illinois State is 2-1 this season.
Illinois State finished the regular season fourth in the MVC in scoring (74.6) and sixth in scoring defense (68.1).
Shannon Dowell is the team's leading scorer, averaging 16.0 points-per-game.

SERIES HISTORY

Illinois State leads the series history, 69-46, and has won seven consecutive games against SIU.
The last time the two teams met in the MVC tournament was in 2021-22, where ISU won, 50-42.
Southern's last win over the Redbirds came on Feb. 20, 2022, where SIU won, 65-49, in Normal.

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.

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