EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – The SIUE softball team suffered its first home loss of the season Tuesday afternoon, falling 6-1 to non-conference foe Northern Iowa at Cougar Field.

"We had two great days of practice heading into this game, but we didn't show up today," Head Coach Sandy Montgomery said.  "It doesn't matter if it's a non-conference game; wins are wins and losses are losses.  I wasn't happy with our effort."

The Cougars (8-15) registered six hits in the game but couldn't get much going offensively against reigning Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year Jamie Fisher.

Fisher led the Panthers to victory (14-6) by tossing a complete game, allowing just one run while recording six strikeouts.

"Fisher's a good pitcher," Montgomery said.  "She mixes it up and keeps the ball down."

UNI got out to an early lead with an RBI double from Micalla Rettinger in the second inning before the visitors added to their lead in the fourth and fifth innings.

SIUE got on the board in the bottom of the sixth, when Alex McDavid knocked an RBI single up the middle to score Jordan LaFave.  McDavid now ranks second on the club with seven RBIs.

"We didn't hit the ball exceptionally well through the first five innings," Montgomery said.  "We started to come around in the sixth, but it was too late by then."

Senior Chelsea Yankolovich went 2-3 at the plate for SIUE, and Cougar pitchers Erin Greenwalt, Haley Chambers, and Alexis Robison-Kohrs combined for 10 strikeouts.

"I was very happy to see what Alexis did," Montgomery said.  "She had command with her pitches and was a bright spot for us."

The Cougars will return to Ohio Valley Conference play this weekend with four games on the road.  SIUE plays a doubleheader at Tennessee Tech Saturday before traveling to Jacksonville State for a doubleheader against the Gamecocks Sunday.

"We'll put this one behind us and get ready for Tennessee Tech and Jacksonville State," Montgomery added.  "We're just going to keep working.  We're not supposed to be as sharp as we can be until the conference tournament, and that's what we're striving for."