Southern Illinois (7-11) was taken down by Drake (12-5) at home tonight. 

The Dawgs started the game off strong, scoring the Bulldogs 23-18 in the first quarter. They maintained the lead until the end of the second quarter where Drake was leading 43-42

Southern took the lead back in the third quarter until a block by junior Promise Taylor gave the Bulldogs possession of the ball. A foul by Aja Holmes and a made free throw by Drake put the Dogs up 65-64. 

The Salukis were at a standstill in the fourth quarter, remaining scoreless for almost seven minutes, until Tamara Nard broke the streak with two points in the paint. Tyranny Brown ended the game with a good three assisted by Quierra Love.

Drake took down Southern 87-73, and almost half of Southern’s points were contributed by fifth-year guard Ashley Jones, who set her career high of 30 points. 

Following Jones, the Salukis were led by sophomore Aja Holmes who went 4-of-6 from three point range and finished with 14 points and 3 rebounds, Tamara Nard with eight points, three rebounds, and Promis Taylor with 8 points and eight rebounds.

The Dawgs shot 10-13 (76.9%) for free throws, 41.5% in the field goal range, and 40.9% from behind the arc.

Southern Illinois will host Northern Iowa on Jan. 2 at 2 p.m. with hopes to redeem themselves on their home court. 

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Sports reporter Joei Younker can be reached at [email protected]

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