SIUE Cougars (0-1, 0-0 OVC)
Vs. Eastern Kentucky Colonels (1-0, 0-0 ASUN)
Thursday, Nov. 8, 2023 | 5:00 PM CT
First Community Arena | Edwardsville, Illinois
LAST TIME OUT: Freshmen Ava Gugliuzza and Ava Stoller 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. 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. As a team, SIUE shot 40 percent (21-52) overall in the contest and 21 percent (4-19) from three-point territory.
MILITARY APPRECIATION NIGHT: During Military Appreciation Night, SIUE is excited to be honoring students, faculty, and staff that are active military or veterans. Military Appreciation Night is being supported by numerous campus and community partners, including the SIUE Office of Military and Veterans Services, Leadership Council of Southwestern Illinois, Scott Air Force Base, and Game One. Active military and veterans can redeem their complimentary ticket here.
OPENING ACT: Since 1979, SIUE owns a 31-13 record when playing in home openers. The Cougars fell in their home opener last season vs. Eastern Michigan, 71-62, but have taken eight of their last 10 home openers dating back to 2013.
YOUNG AND HUNGRY: Freshmen Gugliuzza and Stoller paced the Cougars' scoring efforts with 25 points on Sunday at OSU. Stoller joins SIUE this season from St. Petersburg HS where she led the Green Devlis' scoring efforts with 25.5 points and 4.4 rebounds as a senior. Gugliuzza joins the Cougars from Lincoln Way-West HS where she became the fifth Illinois girls' basketball player to make at least 400 3-pointers in a varsity career.
SERIES HISTORY: Thursday marks the 17th meeting between the Cougars and Colonels dating back to 2009. SIUE leads the series 9-7 but have fallen in the last three contests. At home, the Cougars own a 5-3 advantage over the Colonels. The two schools were conference opponents in the OVC.
50TH SEASON OF WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: The 2023-24 season marks the 50th season of women's basketball at SIUE. The Cougars own an all-time record of 684-638 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 is beginning her third season in charge of the Cougars and ninth season as a head coach. She owns a 22-41 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. 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, Gugliuzza, and Stoller.
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.
Stay connected with the Cougars all season long by following @SIUEWBB on X, @SIUEWBB on Instagram, and SIUE Women's Basketball on Facebook.
