ST. LOUIS, MO. -- Amy Austin turned in the best offensive day of her collegiate career with 20 points as Southern Illinois University Edwardsville rolled over Missouri-St. Louis 66-48 in women's Great Lakes Valley Conference basketball action Saturday.
         The Cougars improved to 11-2 overall and 5-1 in the GLVC, keeping pace with Southern Indiana in the GLVC West. Missouri-St. Louis dropped to 4-6 overall and 1-3 in the GLVC.
         SIUE came out of the game firing with a 10-0 lead in the first four-plus minutes of the game. The Cougars also led 21-4 on a layup by Amber Shelton with 11:35 to play in the first half. From there, the Cougars cruised at the Mark Twain Building.
         Austin,a junior from Jeffersonville, Ind., was 5 of 8 from the field with three three-pointers. She also went 7 of 10 from the free throw line while playing all 40 minutes for Coach Wendy Hedberg.
         Shelton was next in scoring for SIUE with 13 points and has seen double figures in scoring in all 13 games this season. Julianne McMillen and Allison Fogle, who garnered her first start of the season after a 17-point effort Thursday, each scored 10 points.
         UMSL lacked offensive punch, hitting 17 of 66 shots from the field and just 3 of 18 from three-point range. Kristi White led the Riverwomen off the bench with 12 points of 5-of-5 shooting. Taylor Gagliano was the lone UMSL starter in doubel figures with 10 points. The Riverwomen shot 28.8 percent from the field but kept alive several plays with 20 offensive rebounds while winning the overall battle on the boards 44-36.
         SIUE, which has won four straight games, returns home to the Vadalabene Center Thursday to face Southern Indiana for an opportunity to take over first place in the GLVC West Division. Game time is 5:30 p.m.
                  -siue cougars-