BIG RAPIDS, MICH. -- The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville women's basketball team dropped its fifth straight game 77-64 to 10th-ranked Lake Superior State on Wednesday afternoon.
         The Cougars fall to 5-5 overall as they committed 26 turnovers in the contest. The Lakers used a 62.5 field goal percentage (15-24) in the second half to improve to 8-2 on the year.
         The two teams were tied at 25-25 with :59 left in the first half. Lake Superior State hit two shots in the final :28 to take a four point lead into halftime.
         The Lakers went on a 25-15 run the first 8:03 of the second half to gain a 54-40 advantage. The Cougars cut the lead to nine, but could never get any closer.
         Sykes grabbed six rebounds going 4 of 7 from behind the three-point arc as the Cougars netted 53.8 percent (7-13) of their three-pointers.
         Deidra Dace was one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine boards. Amy Austin netted 12 points going 4 for 4 from the free throw line. Allison Fogle added 10 points.
         SIUE outrebouned Lakes Superior State 37-28 in the game.
         The Cougars shot 40.4 percent (19-47) from the field as the Lakers netted 49.2 percent (29-59) of their shots.
         SIUE concludes its five-game road trip with a match at Oakland City on Dec. 29 at 6 p.m.
                  -siue cougars-