LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – SIUE opened up OVC play with Little Rock. The Cougars out scored the Trojan in the second and third quarters, but it came in a losing effort.
 
SIUE falls to 2-8 (0-1 OVC), while Little Rock improves to 3-7 (1-0 OVC).
 
Molly Sheehan led the team with 15 points, shooting 5-7 overall and 3-4 from the three-point range. She also contributed three rebounds and two assists. Brianna Wooldridge followed with 11 points, going 3-9 from the field and 5-6 from the line. She added a career-high three assists and three rebounds.
 
Little Rock took an early eight-point lead in the first quarter. Ava Stoller broke the lead with a jumper in the paint after a timeout, making the score 10-2 with 7:13 left in the first quarter.
 
Sheehan hit the first three-pointer for SIUE to help close the gap, making it an 18-7 game at the 3:24 mark.
 
KK Rodriguez followed with two back-to-back layups, and Jaiden Bryant added a layup off an opponent turnover to end the first quarter, bringing the Cougars to 14-23.
 
Macy Silvey cut Little Rock's lead to six with a three-pointer, making the score 27-21 at the 6:06 mark in the second quarter.
 
SIUE outscored Little Rock 18-17 in the second quarter, staying in the game. The Cougars trailed by eight points at halftime.
 
Silvey opened the second half with another three-pointer.
 
Ava Gugliuzza banked a three-pointer, bringing the score to 53-51, closing the Trojan's lead in the third quarter.
 
The Cougars went 2-4 from the three-point range and 7-10 from the free throw line in the third quarter, outscoring the Trojans.
 
Wooldridge was a key player in the third quarter having seven points going 2-3 from the field and 3-4 from the line.
 
Sheehan hit another three-pointer at the start of the fourth quarter, cutting Little Rocks lead to just two points.
 
A Layup from Faith Lee put Little Rock on an eight-point run, but Sheehan answered with another three-pointer with 3:14 left in the game. However, this was not enough for the Cougars to pull ahead.
 
As a team SIUE led with 22 points off the bench. The Cougars connected on 33 percent (19-57) of their shots from the field. While the Trojans had seven points off the bench, connecting on 51 percent (33-64) of their shots from the field.
 
Up next, SIUE plays at Southeast Missouri St. Tip off is set for 1:30 pm.