STILLWATER, Okla. – Freshmen Ava Stoller and Ava Gugliuzza paced SIUE women's basketball with a pair of double-digit scoring efforts, but the Cougars opened the 2023-24 season with a 100-59 loss at Oklahoma State on Monday night.
"We learned a lot tonight," Head Coach Samantha Quigley Smith said. "I thought we played a solid first half. We fought and had some bad stretches in the second half that we couldn't recover from."
Gugliuzza led the Cougars with 13 points, going 5-10 from the field and 2-7 from beyond the arc. Stoller shot 4-7 and 4-5 at the charity stripe for a dozen points.
"Those two are fearless," added Smith. "They're tough and are going to come ready to play every night. They're competitors and want to win, which is going to help us."
SIUE shot 40 percent (21-52) overall in the contest and 21 percent (4-19) from three-point territory. Oklahoma State, who appeared as the eight seed in the 2023 Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, shot 51 percent (39-76) from the floor and capitalized on 16-20 opportunities at the free throw line.
The Cowgirls outrebounded the Cougars 38-31 on the glass while taking advantage of 21 SIUE turnovers. Stoller and sophomore Macy Silvey led the Cougars with five board apiece. Lezhauria Williams added eight points in her SIUE debut while Olivia Clayton added six. Molly Sheehan, KK Rodriguez, and Sofie Lowis contributed five points each.
Oklahoma State's scoring was led by Anna Gret Asi's 20 points. Six Cowgirls wrapped the season opener in double-figures.
"This was a great environment and learning experience for our players," Smith said. "Oklahoma State was an NCAA tournament team last year. We learned a lot and have some work to do before Eastern Kentucky Thursday."
The Cougars welcome Eastern Kentucky on Thursday, Nov. 9 for Military Appreciation Night. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
Stay connected with the Cougars all season long by following @SIUEWBB on X, @SIUEWBB on Instagram, and SIUE Women's Basketball on Facebook.
