Salukis Stop Skid to End Regular Season with Win

Sunday, March 8

Evansville, IN

2 p.m.

Southern Illinois University

10-19,7-13MVC

Evansville

7-24,5-15MVC

Southern Ill.

Evansville

Jeniah Thompson passes the ball during SIU's 75-69 win over Evansville

03/08/2026 | 4:42:00 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Peter Borkowski

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The 2025-26 women's basketball season ended on Sunday when Southern Illinois (10-19, 7-13) visited the Purple Aces of Evansville (7-24, 5-15). Despite a furious comeback attempt by the Aces, SIU held on for their first win since February 13.

"The biggest thing was our kids worked really, really hard this game," says head coach Kelly Bond-White. "Our kids are resilient, they play hard, and I'm just proud of their effort tonight."

Inside the Box Score

Alayna Kraus led the Salukis in scoring with 22 in 27 minutes of action.
Indya Green also dropped 20+ with her 21. She also snagged 12 boards to complete the double-double.
Kayla Cooper was close to a double-double with her 14 points and eight rebounds.

How it Happened

First Quarter
The Aces got off to a blistering start, taking a 7-0 lead by the 8:07 mark. However, the Salukis went on a run of their own in response, scoring eight straight to go up by a point with 6:23 to play in the first. After nearly 60 seconds of no scoring, Evansville hit a layup to retake the lead.

After another near-minute long scoring drought, Jeniah Thompson cashed in a three-ball to put Southern on top 11-9. The Aces found a 3-pointer of their own though to take control back by one point. An open-layup by Thompson switched the leads again, but the bucket exchange continued when the Aces went up one with just under two minutes remaining in the opening frame.

Thirteen seconds after losing the lead, SIU took it back thanks to a Green layup, which was followed by a Karris Allen make to build a 3-point advantage. Southern grabbed the last basket of the quarter as well to take a 19-14 lead into the first break.

Second Quarter
Southern carried the momentum into the second quarter, potting the first four points of the quarter to build a 23-14 lead. Evansville finally ended their scoring drought by dropping four straight starting at 8:51 to pull back within four. After swapping scores, SIU rattled off a 9-0 run to set their lead at 13.

Evansville ended that run at 5:41 to make the score 34-22, but another four consecutive Saluki points quickly made it 38-22. The Aces cut their deficit down to single digits with a run of seven points, before Southern scored eight straight of their own to go up 46-29.

A pair of Aces' free throws brought the score to 46-31, but the Salukis scored five-in-a-row to increase their lead to 51-31. A perfect trip to the charity stripe from Evansville ended the first half with SIU on top 51-33.

Third Quarter
Green opened the third quarter with a basket on SIU's first possession. Evansville piled on four points following Green's bucket to make it a 16-point game before Green struck again. SIU's lead grew to 20 at 6:44 thanks to a Cooper jumper, but Evansville started to claw their way back into the match with five-straight points.

After 2:30 of no scoring, Kraus hit a jumper which was quickly negated by a pair of Evansville freebies. Kraus hit again from the midrange to bump the SIU lead back up to 16. But the quarter ended with a two Evansville makes from the charity strip to set the score at 61-47 heading into the final 10 minutes of regular season action.

Fourth Quarter
Southern tacked onto their lead to start the final period of play with a Cooper free-throw make to push their advantage to 15. Evansville hit a pair of freebies themselves to pull within 13 before Cooper sank another free throw. The Aces made plenty of ground up starting at 5:10 when a pair of longballs made it 63-55.

Two Green free throws gave SIU a double-digit lead back, but Evansville hit a layup to pull back within eight. Kraus then went perfect at the line to bump the lead back to 10. The Aces went back to the line where they could only sink one attempt, but they followed that up with a make to cut the deficit down to seven.

With under two minutes on the clock, Evansville scored yet again to set the score at 67-62. Southern finally curbed the Evansville momentum with a Kraus bucket, but the Aces responded immediately to keep the difference in the score at five.

Under the 30-second mark, the Aces started to play the foul game. Kynnedi Davis went 1-2 on SIU's first trip to the line. Tkiyah Nelson then made a crucial steal before heading to the charity stripe, where she sank one. The Aces did not back down however, hitting a tough three to pull within four. It was then Kraus' turn at the line where she went 2-2.

The Aces drew a foul next to grab another pair of points, followed by Kraus earning another trip to the line where she hit both attempts to ice the game, 75-69, in favor of SIU.

Up Next
It is tournament time now for the Salukis as they head to Iowa for the 2026 Credit Union 1 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament starting on Thursday, March 12. SIU is locked into the eighth-seed and will face #9 Indiana State at 3:30 p.m.

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