SIUE Cougars (0-6, 0-0 OVC)
at No. 18 Louisville  (5-4, 0-0 ACC)
Tuesday, December 6th, 6:00 PM CT
KFC Yum! Center (22,090), Louisville, Kentucky
LAST GAME: The Cougars faced a difficult opponent in No. 8 Iowa State last Tuesday night in front of a crowd of 9,689 fans at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones came ready to shoot, as they connected on 48 percent of their shots, downing SIUE 93-43. Despite being outrebounded 47-36, the Cougars owned the offensive glass, besting Iowa State 10-9. Madison Webb led the Cougars' rebounding efforts with seven while Jaida Hampton tied a career high with six. Leading the scoring for SIUE was Olivia Clayton and Ajulu Thatha, who finished with seven each. Anna Blank (2-3) and Sofie Lowis (2-5) paced the Cougars with four combined from behind the arc.
ROAD RUNNERS: The Cougars will play as the visitors in eight of their 11 nonconference games to start the season, including the next five. SIUE is currently amid its longest road swing of the season, playing six consecutive games away from Edwardsville.
CRASH THE GLASS: SIUE's 23.0 defensive rebounds per game ranks second in the OVC this season behind Eastern Illinois (27.9). SIUE's 35.2 total rebounds per game stacks up third in the conference.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior forward Ajulu Thatha was named the Ohio Valley Conference Co-Player of the Week on Nov. 29 after collecting a career-high 14 rebounds while adding 16 points vs. Xavier on Nov. 27. Her double- double marked the fourth of her career and fifth 10+ rebounding effort. Thatha's 6.5 rebounds per game are tied for sixth in the conference.
SHOOT YOUR SHOT: Sophomore guard Molly Sheehan is tied for 10th in the OVC connecting on 1.3 three-pointers per game. She leads the Cougars with eight from deep.
DISH EM: Senior guard KK Rodriguez is tied for ninth in the OVC averaging 2.6 assists per game. The 5-6 transfer from Tulsa leads SIUE with 13 this season.
NI-YEAH: Junior Guard Niya Danfort leads the Cougars averaging 11.3 points per game through her first three games this season. The 5-5 transfer from Rend Lake CC also has 14 rebounds, good for third on SIUE.
BOARDS AND SCORES: Sophomore guard Sofie Lowis recorded a career-high six rebounds vs. Xavier on Nov. 27. She also added a team-high 17 points, the most by a Cougar this season.
GAME OF TWO HALVES: The Cougars have scored 186 of their 315 total points (60 percent) through six games in the second half. SIUE has been outscored 277-129 in the first half.
WINNING DOESN'T COME EASY: SIUE is without a win through its first six games for the first time since the 1982-83 season.
READY TO COMPETE IN MARCH: In its nonconference schedule, SIUE plays four games against power-five conference schools (Purdue, Iowa State, Louisville, and Washington).
AT THE HELM: Samantha Quigley Smith is in her second season in charge of SIUE She owns a 13-24 record with the Cougars and a combined collegiate record of 163-65 as head coach.
