EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – KK Rodriguez, Macy Silvey, and Sofie Lowis paced the Cougars' offense with double-figure outings, but Middle Tennessee came out on top, 81-74, Sunday afternoon inside First Community Arena.

SIUE Falls to 1-6 in its nonconference slate while Middle Tennessee improves to 5-2.

"I'm proud of our fight," Head Coach Samantha Quigley Smith said. "Middle Tennessee is a very good program. They have been a team that have made appearances in the NCAA Tournament for the last few years. They are one of the top mid-major programs in the country, and that's exactly where we want to be."

Entering halftime, the Cougars took a one-point lead, 40-39, while shooting 42 percent (14-33) from the floor and 5-16 from three-point land. SIUE forced 12 turnovers in the opening half of play while grabbing seven of its 15 rebounds on the offensive end.

Following the break, the Raiders jumped out to an 8-0 run and never looked back, holding their lead for the remainder of the contest. SIUE brought the game within five points with 48 seconds to go, but MTSU would escape Edwardsville with the victory.

SIUE concluded the contest shooting 45 percent (23-51), 43 percent (7-16) from deep, and 21-26 at the free throw line. The Cougars outrebounded the Raiders 35-32 while scoring 13 points off second chance opportunities.

"These moments and experiences will help us down the stretch when we begin OVC play," added Smith. "Every game is going to be close like this and have moments where we need to fight back. We did that today."

Rodriguez led the Cougars with 28 points, her fifth straight game scoring 15 or more. She shot 7-14 from the floor, 1-2 from three-point territory, and 13-15 at the charity stripe. She also led SIUE with seven rebounds and four steals.

Silvey and Lowis also contributed double-figure outings with 18 and 11, respectively. Silvey finished 6-13 overall, 4-8 from deep, and 2-2 at the line. Lowis shot 4-8 from the floor while connective on two of five opportunities from long range. Silvey added five rebounds, her sixth game this season with five or more, while Lowis contributed four. Olivia Clayton added nine points with five boards.

Middle Tennessee's Ta'Mia Scott led the Raiders with 21 points.

SIUE continues its nonconference slate Wednesday, Nov. 29 at Michigan. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT.

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