Drake’s Elite Passing and Shooting Carves Up Salukis on Senior Day

Saturday, February 28

Carbondale, Ill.

2 p.m.

Southern Illinois University

9-18,6-12MVC

Drake

10-18,9-9MVC

Drake

Southern Ill.

Drake’s Elite Passing and Shooting Carves Up Salukis on Senior Day

02/28/2026 | 9:24:00 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Peter Borkowski

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois women's basketball (9-18, 6-12) played their final home game on Saturday when they hosted Drake (10-18, 9-9). Southern could not prevail on Senior Day, falling to Drake, 83-68, and their efficient offense.

"We are going through a tough stretch right now," says head coach Kelly Bond-White. "What I talked to our young ladies about is what our anchor is. One thing we have to stay is to stay anchored. It is tough right now. What I am proud of is we stayed anchored and we didn't drift."

Inside the Box Score

Kayla Cooper was on fire from beyond the arc for SIU, hitting four threes on her way to 20 points.
Indya Green and Jeniah Thompson, two of the graduate students honored for Senior Day, both hit the 10+ point mark with 11 and 10.
Tkiyah Nelson was the main facilitator on offense, dishing out seven assists.

How it Happened

Pre-Game
Before tipoff, SIU honored their three senior players, Green, Thompson, and Karris Allen, along with graduate assistant Peyton Thevenot and student manager Alek Abell, for their time and dedication to the women's basketball program.

First Quarter
Cooper and Green both scored in the opening 70 seconds to give Southern an early 4-0 lead before the teams exchanged baskets until it was 8-4 in favor of the Salukis. Drake then broke out an eight-point run to take a 12-8 advantage with 5:40 left in the first quarter.

An and-one play from Carmen Morales pulled the Salukis back within one, but an 8-4 Bulldog run gave Drake a five-point advantage, their largest of the afternoon up until that point. A free-throw and three-point from SIU made it a one-point game with less than 60 seconds on the clock, but Drake snagged the last bucket of the opening quarter to take a 22-19 lead into the first break.

Second Quarter
Drake started the second frame with a quick five points before Thompson sank the first Saluki basket of the quarter at 8:10 to make it 27-21. Southern eventually pulled back within five at 7:43, but a Drake threeball wiped any momentum the Salukis may have had. Alayna Kraus followed that three up with a score, but Drake responded immediately to keep their lead at eight.

That Drake lead soon turned into 11 after they hit another longball at 6:29. The squads swapped two-point plays until the Bulldogs scored six straight starting at the 2:03 mark to take a commanding 15-point lead. Cooper managed to sink a pair of free throws to end the half with SIU down by 13, 46-33.

Third Quarter
The first trio of points in the third quarter belonged to the visitors from Des Moines, Iowa, whose lead grew to 16. After trading two-point plays for a few minutes, Southern thought they had some momentum growing with a Cooper three at 5:57, but Drake hit back with a three of their own to keep the difference at 15.

After a Bulldog layup made it 57-40, Southern started to claw their way back thanks to a 5-0 run at 5:14. Drake stopped that run with a single free-throw make, but SIU picked their run back up with a seven-point spree to pull back within six, 58-52.

Drake managed to bump their lead back up to double-digits by the 31-second mark. A pair of Thompson freebies brought the lead back into single-digits before a buzzer-beater by Drake set their lead at 10, 64-54, going into the final 10 minutes of regulation.

Fourth Quarter
After the Bulldogs opened the final frame with a layup, Cooper nailed a three to make it a single-digit, nine-point game. Three straight points from Drake however had their lead in the double-digits again, but another three from Cooper and a jumper by Kraus cut the Bulldog lead all the way down to seven.

Drake quickly dismissed talks of a comeback however, scoring eight of the next 10 points to take a 77-64 advantage. SIU did not give in though, with Thompson and Green scoring the next two buckets to pull the Salukis back within nine. Drake scored the last field goal of the game at 1:23 and converted on their next four free-throw attempts to ice the game, defeating the Salukis 83-68.

Up Next
The Salukis hit the road for their final pair of regular season games. First up is a trip to Belmont on Monday, March 2, at 6:30 p.m. That game is makeup from a previously snowed out matchup.

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.