Julianne McMillan notched her sixth double-double of the season as SIU Edwardsville picked up an important 77-69 conference win over Saint Joseph's Saturday.
         With the victory, the Cougars improve to 10-12 overall and 5-10 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play and retain the eighth spot in the conference standings. Saint Joseph's, who is ninth in the GLVC standings, falls to 6-15 overall and 3-12 in conference play. The top eight teams advance to the conference tournament in March.
         The Cougars fell behind early thanks to efficient shooting by Saint Joseph's. Megan Haag's jumper at the 11:33 mark of the first half gave the Pumas a 17-6 lead, their largest lead of the game.
         SIUE's Jaque Howard hit two three-point field goals down the stretch of the first half as SIUE climbed back into the contest and trailed 35-32 at break.
         SIUE came out hot in the second half, netting 13 of 24 for a 54.2 shooting percentage from the field. But the persistent Pumas had the lead late in the game until Tanya Guell's jumper at the 2:20 mark gave the Cougars a 68-67 advantage. SIUE converted all seven free throws in the final minute as the Cougars claimed the eight-point victory.
         McMillan posted 10 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Jessica Robert led all scorers with 23 points. Tanya Guell and Howard each scored 13 for the Cougars.
         Courtney Rosenbaum led Saint Joseph's with 22 points. Heather Allen followed with 17 and Haag chipped in 11.
         SIUE will now take to the road for a Thursday matchup at Northern Kentucky. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m.
                           -siue cougars-