Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Quiet Second Half Sinks Salukis, 78-60, at Illinois State
02/26/2026 | 8:30:00 | Women's Basketball
NORMAL, Ill. – For their fourth-to-final game in the regular season, Southern Illinois women's basketball (9-17, 6-11) traveled to Normal to take on the Redbirds of Illinois State (17-11, 11-6). Southern took a seven-point lead into halftime, but Illinois State outscored Southern by 25 in the second half to walk away with a 78-60 win over the Salukis.
Inside the Box Score
How it Happened
First Quarter
SIU struck first 48 seconds in thanks to a Green layup. Illinois State tied things up quickly however before Green scored again to give SIU a 4-2 lead. A pair of free throws kicked off a 6-0 run by Illinois State to take an 8-4 lead with 7:35 left in the first. Jeniah Thompson put an end to that run with a layup, but that was immediately followed up by a Redbird three.
After nearly two minutes without a score, Green converted on a jumper to pull SIU within three before Illinois State scored the next four points to take a 15-8 advantage. A pair of Green layups bookended two Illinois State scores and both squads grabbed a bucket in the final 90 seconds to set the score 21-14 in favor of Illinois State going into the first break.
Second Quarter
The Salukis came out firing in the seconds quarter, snagging the first eight points of the frame, six of which belonged to Green. With Southern in front now, 22-21, Illinois State ended the bleeding with a layup to retake the lead. After exchanging baskets, Southern cranked out a massive 11-0 run to go up 36-25 with 2:26 left in the quarter.
Illinois State cut into Southern's 11-point lead with a three-point spree, but Green got it back to double digits with a layup at the 0:58 mark. The final three points of the frame, including a buzzer-beater, belonged to the Redbirds, who trailed the Salukis 38-31 heading into the halftime break.
Third Quarter
The momentum carried into the start of the third for SIU, with Kayla Cooper and Green both potting a score to build SIU's advantage up to 11, 42-31. Five straight points from the Redbirds got them back within six, and, following a Cooper pullup jumper, eight more consecutive points from the home squad tied things up at 44-44.
The run did not end there for the Redbirds though. Another three Illinois State points put them back on top by a trio of points. Two free throws from Kynnedi Davis made it a one-point difference, but Illinois State piled on another seven points, five of which came from the charity stripe, to suddenly find themselves with an eight-point advantage.
Carmen Morales made it 54-48 with less than a minute to go in the quarter, but a late make from Illinois State negated that bucket and made it an eight-point game heading to the final 10 minutes of play.
Fourth Quarter
The Salukis hit the first bucket of the fourth to make it 56-50, but a seven-point spree from Illinois State escalated their lead to 63-50. Kraus hit a pair of freebies to cut the lead to 11, but an 8-0 run from the Redbirds bumped their advantage up to 19.
Thompson hit a jumper with 5:12 on the clock to try and get SIU going, but Illinois State wiped that off the board with a make from beyond the arc. After a Kraus make, another four-point run from the Redbirds made it a 22-point game. Southern scored the final four points of the game to set the final score at 78-60 in favor of Illinois State.
Up Next
SIU is back at home on Saturday, February 28, for a 2 p.m. game against Drake. The game will be Senior Day for SIU, who will honor their seniors right before tipoff.
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
- Indya Green dropped 24 points while coming one rebound short of a double-double. Twenty-two of her points came in the first half.
- Alayna Kraus was Green's main help on offense, scoring 12.
- Despite not scoring, Tkiyah Nelson did great facilitating the offense with her 10 assists.
How it Happened
First Quarter
SIU struck first 48 seconds in thanks to a Green layup. Illinois State tied things up quickly however before Green scored again to give SIU a 4-2 lead. A pair of free throws kicked off a 6-0 run by Illinois State to take an 8-4 lead with 7:35 left in the first. Jeniah Thompson put an end to that run with a layup, but that was immediately followed up by a Redbird three.
After nearly two minutes without a score, Green converted on a jumper to pull SIU within three before Illinois State scored the next four points to take a 15-8 advantage. A pair of Green layups bookended two Illinois State scores and both squads grabbed a bucket in the final 90 seconds to set the score 21-14 in favor of Illinois State going into the first break.
Second Quarter
The Salukis came out firing in the seconds quarter, snagging the first eight points of the frame, six of which belonged to Green. With Southern in front now, 22-21, Illinois State ended the bleeding with a layup to retake the lead. After exchanging baskets, Southern cranked out a massive 11-0 run to go up 36-25 with 2:26 left in the quarter.
Illinois State cut into Southern's 11-point lead with a three-point spree, but Green got it back to double digits with a layup at the 0:58 mark. The final three points of the frame, including a buzzer-beater, belonged to the Redbirds, who trailed the Salukis 38-31 heading into the halftime break.
Third Quarter
The momentum carried into the start of the third for SIU, with Kayla Cooper and Green both potting a score to build SIU's advantage up to 11, 42-31. Five straight points from the Redbirds got them back within six, and, following a Cooper pullup jumper, eight more consecutive points from the home squad tied things up at 44-44.
The run did not end there for the Redbirds though. Another three Illinois State points put them back on top by a trio of points. Two free throws from Kynnedi Davis made it a one-point difference, but Illinois State piled on another seven points, five of which came from the charity stripe, to suddenly find themselves with an eight-point advantage.
Carmen Morales made it 54-48 with less than a minute to go in the quarter, but a late make from Illinois State negated that bucket and made it an eight-point game heading to the final 10 minutes of play.
Fourth Quarter
The Salukis hit the first bucket of the fourth to make it 56-50, but a seven-point spree from Illinois State escalated their lead to 63-50. Kraus hit a pair of freebies to cut the lead to 11, but an 8-0 run from the Redbirds bumped their advantage up to 19.
Thompson hit a jumper with 5:12 on the clock to try and get SIU going, but Illinois State wiped that off the board with a make from beyond the arc. After a Kraus make, another four-point run from the Redbirds made it a 22-point game. Southern scored the final four points of the game to set the final score at 78-60 in favor of Illinois State.
Up Next
SIU is back at home on Saturday, February 28, for a 2 p.m. game against Drake. The game will be Senior Day for SIU, who will honor their seniors right before tipoff.
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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