Southern Illinois took on the UT Martin Skyhawks on Wednesday, Dec. 15, in a road matchup against one of the premier teams in the Ohio Valley Conference. SIU is coming off a victory against Quincy University this last Sunday, 70-45.

The Skyhawks gained the first possession of the game. But after a back and forth affair between the two teams, UT Martin’s freshman forward Shae Littleford made the first score of the game at 6:40 left in the first quarter.

At 6:22 left in the first quarter, senior forward Mackenzie Silvey knocked in a three-pointer for the Salukis’ first points of the game.

The score was tied, 4-4, between the two teams at first media timeout with 4:26 left in the first quarter.

SIU and UT Martin continued to score back-and-forth until the end of the first quarter. With one-fourth of the game finished, the Salukis led 11-10.

Southern Illinois went on a run to start the second half. Baskets by sophomore forward Adrianna Katcher and senior center Abby Brockmeyer gave SIU a 15-10 lead with 8:55 left in the second quarter.

The Salukis held this commanding lead at 4:24 left in the second quarter. SIU led 23-17 at the second media timeout of the first half.

Sophomore point guard Quierra Love sparked another run with a three-pointer at 2:52 left in the first half. This helped push the Salukis lead to nine at the break.

At halftime, Southern Illinois was firmly in the lead, 31-22.

SIU continued to keep their foot on the gas coming out of the break, only allowing four points through the first 6 minutes of the second half.

All the while, Southern Illinois continued to put points on the board. So much so the score became 42-26 by the first media timeout of the second half. This was with 4:05 left to go in the third quarter.

As the Salukis continued to get to the free throw line, SIU maintained their solid lead, and finished the third quarter up 52-35.

To start the fourth quarter, both teams went back and forth without much scoring. Then, Silvey knocked down two three pointers in an effort to keep the Skyhawks down.

It worked, as Brockmeyer converted a second-chance layup and Silvey knocked down a pull-up three with 6:11 left in the game. These plays gave the Salukis a 63-43 lead.

The Skyhawks went on a run of their own, cutting the score to 67-52 with just less than three minutes left in the game. However, it would not be enough as the Salukis finished the game with the win, 69-54.

Silvey led the way tonight for the Salukis with 23 points (including five threes) and four assists. Brockmeyer helped out with 13 points in the victory.

Both women did great on the defensive side of the ball as well, each coming away with two steals.

The Salukis will hope to carry the momentum from this victory into their next matchup against Middle Tennessee, which will be played on Friday, Dec. 17. This will be the second of the team’s two-game road trip.

Sports Reporter Cole Daily can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at cdaily_de

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