EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville women's basketball snapped an eight-game losing skid Sunday in a 57-53 victory over South Dakota at the Vadalabene Center.

The Cougars, 3-12, forced a season-high 27 turnovers against the Coyotes, 9-8. SIUE now has one day off before playing host to Ohio Valley Conference rival Tennessee State. Tip-off time Tuesday is 7 p.m.

"I am so happy for the players," said Head Coach Amanda Levens after Sunday's win. "They truly deserve this after working hard the last few days of practice."

On Sunday, Michaela Herrod led the Cougars with 12 points and eight rebounds. "Michaela played extremely well," added Levens. "She stepped up big for us today."

Courtney Kenner turned in a solid performance at the point guard position with a season-high seven assists for the Cougars. Kenner also set a career high in steals with four.

SIUE's defense was center stage against the Coyotes. SIUE recorded a season-best 16 steals, including four more from Sydney Stahlberg.

"The defense was fantastic forcing 27 turnovers. The team executed the zone really well without spending a lot of time on it in practice," said Levens.

Amber Hegge led three players in double figures with 18 points for South Dakota. She added a game-high nine rebounds. Annie Roche and Tempestt Wilson added 13 and 11 points, respectively.

South Dakota struggled from beyond the three-point arc, hitting 5 of 26 shots for 19.2 percent.

The Coyotes got off to a quick start with the first four points of the game on buckets from Jodie Boss and Wilson. SIUE then ran off the next nine points of the game to take control. The lead changed seven times in the first half.

SIUE was up 29-27 at halftime before briefly giving up the lead early in the second half. Madison Meade's jumper with 13:56 put SIUE ahead for good. SIUE never led by more than six points in the game.

"Down the stretch we did a good job of sticking together and making the next play a good one for our team," said Levens.

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