On Sunday, Feb. 6, the Salukis took on the Bears of Missouri State in a highly anticipated battle. Southern Illinois headed into the game hoping to sweep the Bears en route to a five-game winning streak.

Unfortunately for them, they fell to MSU by just one, 53-52.

The game started with both teams failing to gain any rhythm. The first bucket came at the hands of SIU senior forward Abby Brockmeyer with a free throw. The basket came with 6:52 left in the first quarter.

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By the time of the first media timeout, the score was just 6-2, SIU in the lead. After the break, it was more of the same. Freshman forward Laniah Randle scored next with 2:24 left in the first.

The score was 10-6 at the end of the first quarter.

The rust finally wore off at around the seven-minute mark of the second quarter. The Salukis and Bears finally managed to get their shots to fall.

Missouri State managed to score so efficiently, the Dawgs were forced to call a timeout with 2:12 left in the half. At this point, Missouri State held a 22-16 lead.

MSU held a solid 25-21 lead heading into the tunnel for halftime.

The Bears managed to go up by eight, 31-23, with 8:45 left in the third quarter. If the Salukis wanted to stay in the game, they needed to put some points on the board and minimize MSU’s lead.

Luckily for them their stars, Brockmeyer and senior forward Mackenzie Silvey, happened to nail a layup and a three-pointer to cut the lead to just three.

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By the first media timeout of the second half, with 4:30 on the third-quarter clock, the Bears led 42-38.

The Salukis managed to regain the lead, 41-37, at the end of the third quarter.

The game became a back-and-forth affair to start the fourth, with neither team gaining any sort of advantage. That was until Brockmeyer knocked down a momentum-building three-pointer with 6:53 left in the game.

The Dawgs led 50-49 by the final media timeout of the game. 4:49 stood on the clock as both teams prepared for the final stretch.

Brockmeyer helped SIU gain a 52-50 lead with 4:03 left in the game. In the following minutes, Missouri State knocked down three free throws to take the lead once again.

It was all up to Silvey with 15 seconds left in the game. The Salukis came up short, missing the final shot and losing 53-52.

Brockmeyer put together a heroic performance against the Bears, totaling 19 points and six rebounds. Silvey assisted her teammate on the court with her 15 points, three assists and two steals.

SIU’s next game will be against the Indiana State Sycamores on Wednesday, Feb. 9. This will be Southern Illinois’ second game on a two-game road trip.

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

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