SERIES HISTORY: Monday marks the second meeting between the Cowgirls and Cougars. On Nov. 20, 2015, OSU downed SIUE inside Gallagher-Iba Arena, 86-61.

OPENING ACT: SIUE owns an all-time record of 25-18 in season openers dating back to 1979. The Cougars are 2-3 in their last five opening acts.

49TH SEASON OF WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: The 2023-24 season marks the 49th season of women's basketball at SIUE. The Cougars own an all-time record of 684-637 since the program began in 1974.

READY TO COMPETE IN MARCH: In its nonconference schedule, SIUE will play four games against opponents who finished the 2022-23 season in RPI top 100 (Oklahoma State, Illinois State, Middle Tennessee, and Michigan).

TABBED SEVENTH: The preseason Ohio Valley Conference poll predicted a seventh-place finish for the Cougars. Tennessee Tech was selected as regular season champions with 16-first place votes.

AT THE HELM: Samantha Quigley Smith begins her third season in charge of the Cougars and ninth season as a head coach. She owns a 22-40 record at SIUE and is 15-21 against conference opponents. All-time, Coach Sam is 172-81.

RODRIGUEZ PRESEASON ALL-OVC: KK Rodriguez earned Preseason All-OVC honors on Oct. 17. The graduate guard ranked fourth on the Cougars' 2022-23 squad averaging 8.1 points per game while leading SIUE in total assists (73) and steals (50). Her 1.9 steals per game ranked fifth in the OVC while her assists per game were good for 10th.

TRANSFERS: Alexis Legan (Orange Coast College), Halle Smith (Southeast Missouri State), Lezhauria Williams (Rend Lake Junior College), and Brianna Wooldridge (IUPUI) all join the Cougars this season as transfers.

FRESHMAN ADDITIONS: SIUE added three freshmen in the offseason: Emiyah Cobb, Ava Gugliuzza, and Ava Stoller.

DO IT FOR FREE: Last season, SIUE ranked second in the OVC and 69th in the NCAA averaging 13.84 free throws made per game. The Cougars also ranked second in the OVC and 75th nationally in free throw attempts at 18.90.

FAB FIVE: SIUE returns five student-athletes to the 2023-24 roster: Clayton, Sofie Lowis, Rodriguez, Molly Sheehan, and Macy Silvey. All five played a wealth of minutes and cracked the starting lineup at least 17 times.

HOT HAND: Against OVC opponents, SIUE ranked second in scoring offense at 69.22 points per game.

CRASH THE GLASS: SIUE ranked second in the conference in rebounds per game at 35.90 and first in offensive rebounds per game at 12.3.

GOING INTERNATIONAL: SIUE traveled to Italy over the summer in July. On the nine-day trip, the Cougars made stops in Rome, Milan, and Venice. As part of the trip, SIUE student-athletes experienced the culture, received SIUE course credit, and played games against Italian professional teams.

BACK IN THE DANCE: SIUE returned to the OVC tournament for the eighth time in program history and third under Coach Sam. SIUE took victory over Tennessee State 71-64 before falling to Tennessee Tech in the quarterfinals.

A NEW STAFF: Assistant coaches Liz Doran (Oglethorpe 2001) and Eric Gruber (North Central, 2016) join the Cougars' coaching staff this season. Doran comes to Edwardsville from Division II University of Colorado Colorado Springs where she served as an assistant coach for seven years under Head Coach Lynn Plett. With the Mountain Lions, the team combined for an 86-104 record with two RMAC playoff appearances. Gruber joins the SIUE coaching staff after spending a season as an assistant at Division II Parkside, helping the Rangers to an 18-11 record.

A NEW HOME: Rodriguez and Olivia Clayton came to Edwardsville last season as transfers from Tulsa. Rodriguez spent three seasons with the Hurricanes while Clayton played two years.

LIV IN THE PAINT: Clayton's 1.7 offensive rebounds per game stacked up 12th in the conference last season. She made appearances in 29 games while making 20 starts, averaging 5.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game.

SILVEY LINING: In her first season at SIUE, Silvey appeared in 30 games while cracking the starting five on 17 occasions. She averaged 22:30 minutes per contest and concluded the season with 173 points, 44 rebounds, 24 assists, and 20 steals. An Edwardsville native, Silvey ranked third on the team with 40 three-pointers made, averaging 1.3 per game. In the opening round of the OVC tournament, she led SIUE with a career-high 22 points and set the program record for most three-pointers made in an OVC tournament game with five.

LEAN ON LOWIS: As a sophomore, Lowis led SIUE in minutes per game at 29:62. She ranked second on SIUE in total points (343) and assists (68). Her 11.2 points per game stacked up 15th in the OVC. The guard proved to be strong from beyond the arc, leading SIUE with 54 from deep, good for third in the league and tied for 10th in program history. Lowis is currently tied for 17th in program history with 74 three-pointers made in her career.

SHEHAN-DLES: Sheehan ranked third on last year's squad averaging 26:36 minutes per game. Her 215 points also ranked third while her 68 assists ranked second. A threat from long range, the guard ranked 12th in the OVC averaging 1.4 three-pointers per game. Her .905 free throw percentage led the Cougars while her 2.3 assists per game ranked 15th in the OVC.

DISH IT AND TAKE IT: Rodriguez proved to be strong finding open teammates during her first season at SIUE, leading the Cougars with 73 assists and 50 steals. On Dec. 27, she was named the OVC Newcomer of the week on Dec. 27 after averaging 12.5 points and 4.0 assists over two games at the Husky Classic.