The SIU women’s basketball team saw improvement on the offensive side of the ball to start the month of March, scoring their most points since Feb. 7.
But, as has been the case so many times this season, it wasn’t enough.
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In their March 1 matchup with Murray State, the Salukis gave up 87 points for the fourth time this season, tied for the second-most points they’ve given up in a game.
The ever-consistent Gift Uchenna found her way into the record book after she put up 15 points and 14 rebounds, which brought her season total to an astounding 348 and broke the single-season rebounding record with two games left to play.
Uchenna pulled down the record-breaking board and her eighth rebound of the game with 9:06 to play in the second with the Salukis trailing 18-11 after a slow first quarter that saw them score only 8 points.
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The Dawgs stayed within striking distance throughout the second quarter, keeping the gap within 10 points until a 12-4 run by the Racers put the halftime score at 43-27.
Kayla Cooper, who led the Salukis with 4 steals, put up 5 points in the second, while freshmen Alice Curman and Isabella Palmqvist each had 4 points. The Dawgs had 19 points in the frame, which was a welcome change from the low offensive outputs that have been increasingly commonplace.
The third quarter saw perhaps the strongest performance of the game. SIU put up 17 points, including going 2-3 on 3 pointers, and was outscored by only 2 points, with the deficit sitting at 62-44 entering the fourth quarter.
Uchenna put up 8 points in the fourth quarter as the Salukis aimed to shrink Murray State’s lead, but the Dawgs were unable to contain the Racers, who went 4-4 from beyond the 3 point line in the quarter and finished the game on fire, shooting 64.3% in the quarter.
Murray had a strong shooting game, going 10-21 from beyond the arc and 45.5% overall. The Salukis only converted 30.8% 3 pointers, but managed to shoot 44.1% from the floor and 8-10 from the line.
SIU will return home for their final two games of the season and will first face off with the Bradley Braves on March 6 at 6 p.m.
Sports reporter Ryan Grieser can be reached at rgrieser@dailyegyptian.com. To stay up to date on all your southern Illinois news, be sure to follow The Daily Egyptian on Facebook.
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