Gift Uchenna’s massive double-double wasn’t enough to get the Salukis a win versus Evansville. 

Despite Uchenna’s 26 point, 19 rebound performance, SIU dropped to 1-5 in Missouri Valley Conference play after a rough defensive effort against the Purple Aces. Evansville piled up at least 19 points in every quarter, and found themselves running away with the game at the half.

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SIU struggled to stop Evansville; the Purple Aces scored 1.13 points per possession, and scored 30 points on 43.5% shooting from beyond the arc. Evansville also piled up 23 points from the free throw line, where they shot 85% on the game. 

The Dawgs struggled comparatively. They shot only 40.6% from the floor and an even worse 33% from three. SIU also garnered only 7 points on 46.7% shooting from the free throw line. 

Freshman Isabella Palmqvist was a bright spot for the Saluki offense; she scored a career-high 19 points on 7-17 shooting, including 5-11 from three point land. Kayla Cooper also had one of her most productive nights as a Saluki, finishing with 14 points and dishing up eight assists.

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Uchenna was the only player with more than three points for the Salukis in the first quarter, finishing with eight at the end of the frame. 

SIU was hanging with Evansville through the opening eight minutes of the game, finding themselves down only two points. A quick 8-0 run over a single minute by Evansville gave the Purple Aces a 10 point lead, and they ended the quarter up 21-13.

A Cooper three and an Uchenna layup cut the lead to 21-18 early in the second quarter, but Evansville woke up again and lengthened their lead back to eight points. 

The Purple Aces kept pushing and found themselves up 15 at the end of half, led by Elle Snyder’s six points in the quarter. Snyder was the top scorer for Evansville and finished the game with 19 points.

The Salukis woke up after halftime, led by Palmqvist’s 10 points in the third quarter. And while SIU limited Evansville from the field, they sent them to the line continuously, where Evansville converted on 10 of 13 shots. 

Cooper started the fourth with a three to cut the lead to 14, but Evansville kept their foot on the gas through the rest of the game, cruising through the quarter en route to a 85-70 win. 

The Salukis (3-14, 1-5) will return to Carbondale for a two-game home stand, and will take the court again on Friday, Jan. 24 against the University of Northern Iowa (9-9, 4-3).

Sports reporter Ryan Grieser can be reached at [email protected]. To stay up to date on all your southern Illinois news, be sure to follow The Daily Egyptian on Facebook.

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