EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Southern Indiana put together an 8-0 run after the opening tipoff and held the lead the rest of the way to down SIUE women's basketball, 75-58, on Saturday night at Screaming Eagles Arena.
SIUE falls to 4-21 and 1-11 against Ohio Valley Conference opponents. USI improves to 16-6 and 11-1.
"We took good looks today, but they weren't falling," Head Coach Samantha Quigley Smith said. "You don't want to tell your good shooters to not take open shots. I do think we didn't punch it inside enough in the first half. We should've found a few more inside touches to our forwards."
SIUE trailed by six at the conclusion of the first period at 18-12 before Southern Indiana outscored the Cougars 23-9 in the second quarter.
The Cougars would outscore the Screaming Eagles 37-34 in the second half, including 27-16 in the final quarter of action. SIUE shot 5-7 from three-point range and 9-15 from the floor in the final quarter of action.
USI shot 48 percent (28-59) overall, 8-19 from deep, and 11-15 at the free throw line. SIUE went 18-60 (30 percent) from the floor and 7-31 from long range. The Cougars also went a perfect 15-15 at the free throw line, the first time SIUE has been perfect from the stripe (min. 10 attempts) since Dec. 20, 2016, vs. Bethune-Cookman (13-13).
The Cougars forced 14 turnovers and scored 16 points off USI's miscues. USI edged SIUE 39-36 on the boards.
SIUE was led offensively by freshman Ava Stoller's 14 points. She shot 3-5 overall and went 2-3 from three-point territory while going 6-6 at the charity stripe. The guard added five rebounds, along with one steal and assist.
Halle Smith (12) and Macy Silvey (11) added double-figure outings, going a combined 8-20 from the floor. Smith also tallied six rebounds and a block. Brianna Wooldridge commanded SIUE on the glass, grabbing nine rebounds in 13 minutes of play.
"Our defense is improving," added Smith. "We've held a few teams under 70, which we haven't done since the beginning of the season. We're finding some positives to pull from each game and our team grinded out some wins down the stretch."
Southern Indiana was led by Chloe Gannon's 18 points. Vanessa Shafford led all rebounders with 11.
SIUE returns to First Community Arena for a pair of home games next week before playing four straight on the road to end the season. SIUE will open with Lindenwood on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. prior to closing the week with Southeast Missouri on Saturday.
"These two games are must-wins for us," said Smith. "We have to sweep next week at home to have a chance at playing in March. These moments are important."
Stay connected with the Cougars all season long by following @SIUEWBB on X, @SIUEWBB on Instagram, and SIUE Women's Basketball on Facebook.
