After a two week hiatus, the SIU women’s basketball team (3-6)was back in action tonight with their final non-conference matchup of the season against the Saint Louis Billikens (4-11). The Dawgs unfortunately fell in the matchup, 82-54.

The offense just couldn’t get going from the start tonight, shooting just a 32.8% field goal percentage, and just 35% from the three point line. Sophomore Aja Holmes and graduate student Ashley Jones were the only ones hitting double digits in points on the night, with both hitting 13.

Holmes’ three point shot just wasn’t hitting, as she had half the attempts with 10 but only made three of them. Sophomore Laniah Randle helped out in rebounds, leading with six through the contest.

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A three pointer and a jumper by Holmes gave the Salukis the brief lead to start, but a 14-2 run for Saint Louis gave them the edge late in the first at 18-7. The Billikens would hold that going into the second quarter at 20-9. Then, three-straight three pointers by Holmes cut the deficit to just two points and helped jumpstart a Saluki run.

A jumper by freshman Jaidynn Mason and a layup by Holmes gave the dawgs the lead once more at 29-26, but they failed to hold that lead going into the half and headed into the locker room down 32-31.

The momentum created in the second quarter just wouldn’t carry over into the third, as the Dawgs went almost seven full minutes without a successful field goal. The Billikens went on a 13-1 run to start the third before a Tyranny Brown three pointer got them on the board. The Salukis went into the fourth down 12 points with a lot of ground to make up.

Once again, a big run for the Billikens started the quarter off. Saint Louis got up to a 17 point lead with a 7-1 run to start the fourth. The Slukis just couldn’t get back into the game from that point and the Billikens finished strong once more, scoring the final eight baskets of the game to earn the win over Southern.

The Salukis will be back in action with their first Missouri Valley Conference matchup of the season one week from tomorrow on December 29th, with a road matchup against Evansville, looking to start off the conference season with a win.

Sports editor Joseph Bernard can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Jojobernard2001. 

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