EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Courtney Kenner hit a pair of free throws with 7.6 seconds left as Southern Illinois University Edwardsville women's basketball defeated Eastern Kentucky 61-60 Monday at the Vadalabene Center.

Kenner was the final hero in a game that featured 17 lead changes. SIUE improved to 5-12 as it won its third straight game. EKU extended its losing streak to nine games and is now 4-13 overall.

"Courtney played a very good floor game. She is used to playing in big games. To be in that situation is something she strives for," said SIUE Head Coach Amanda Levens.

Down 60-59 in the final seconds of the game, Kenner was fouled underneath the basket on an inbounds play. Reese Bass was called for the foul after being boxed out by Kenner on an inbounds play. Kenner would tie the game on her first free throw. After a quick EKU timeout, Kenner made the second.

On the ensuing inbounds play, Bass nearly bested the Cougars. She dribbled to the left side against Kenner for a three-pointer that rimmed out as the final buzzer hit.

The Cougars had plenty of heroes in getting to the final score.

Allyssa Decker came off the bench for SIUE to record her best performance as a Cougar. The freshman center shot 9 of 15 from the field and scored a team-high 18 points.

"Allyssa has a really nice skill set and great touch around the basket," said Levens.

Jazmin Hill matched her career high in three-pointers with five and finished with 16 points. Melia Duncan scored nine points off the bench, including a pair of three-pointers. Sydney Stahlberg led all players with 10 rebounds as SIUE grabbed the rebounding edge overall 34-31.

The Cougars got off to a good start to open the game and held a four-point lead by halftime. SIUE shot 54 percent over the first 20 minutes for a 33-29 lead.

EKU, which finished a three-game road swing of Ohio Valley Conference teams with Monday's game, kept the pressure on the Cougars by hitting free throws in the second half.

Alex Jones, who scored a game-high 19 points, was 11 of 12 from the free throw line. As a team, EKU was 15 of 16 from the charity stripe in the second half.

Brittany Coles and Marie Carpenter joined Jones in double figures with 18 and 10, respectively. Despite the myriad lead changes, EKU's biggest lead of the game was three points in the first three minutes of the game.

The Cougars now take their three-game winning streak to Morehead State for a 5:15 p.m. ET start in Morehead, Ky. Levens warned her team against being complacent against the Eagles.

"We cannot get comfortable winning and think it is just going to happen. We need to keep working to get victories," Levens added.

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