EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE shot 65 percent in the first half Monday and went on to a 68-58 triumph over Western Illinois in women's college basketball action at the Vadalabene Center.

SIUE evened its season record to 2-2 with three players in double figures. Jazmin Hill scored 16 followed by 15 from Raven Berry and 14 from CoCo Moore.

Playing their third game in five days, the Cougars came out anything but sluggish against the Leathernecks, now 1-3.

"I think we came out of the gates and shot the ball very well," said SIUE Head Coach Paula Buscher. "We needed to pick it up defensively after the first couple of minutes and I think we did that."

Buscher got plenty of help from the Cougar bench which outscored WIU's bench 39-19.

"We had to rotate people to different spots, and we did a pretty good job of that tonight.  We didn't play a perfect game but with just one day of rest time and preparation I'm proud of how they responded to it."

Moore's 14 points was a career high. The Cougar guard was everywhere on the court with five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

"CoCo is starting to play with more confidence.  She's starting to figure things out a little bit more.  She's a great player and a tremendous athlete, and I think she is going to continue to grow in her freshman year," said Buscher.

SIUE and Western Illinois went back and forth early in the contest. Western Illinois forward Michelle Maher kept the Leathernecks neck and neck with the Cougars with a 22-point effort. She hit a game-high five three-pointers.

The Cougars closed out the first half with a 21-5 run over the final 8:44 and took a 39-24 lead into the locker room.

SIUE, which shot 57.1 percent from the field for the game, allowed the lead to go to single digits just once in the second half.

"The biggest thing about tonight is that we learned how to finish off games with the lead. We didn't play perfect but the bottom line is that we got the win and now we can go back and work on some things," Buscher said.

Next up for the Cougars is the SMU Hoops for the Cure Classic in Dallas, Texas. SIUE plays SMU Friday in a 5 p.m. contest. The Cougars then take on either Montana State or Clemson Saturday.

"Early on, we have a schedule where we have all kinds of different teams coming at us, and that's what we have to do so we can prepare for anything. You use these games as teaching moments, and I'm proud of the way our players responded and we got off to a quick start which was nice to see."