It was an ugly shooting night for the Salukis as they fell to Wichita State 57-48. During the game, senior guard Cartaesha Macklin became the all-time leader in minutes played in program history.

Macklin, who recently became SIU’s leading all-time scorer, would finish the game with three points and three rebounds.

The Dawgs hoped to give coach Cindy Stein her first road win against the Shockers as a birthday present, but couldn’t overcome a slow start.

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The Salukis (11-7, 4-2 Missouri Valley Conference) finished 1-20 from the 3-point line and shot 31 percent from the field.

Wichita State (4-14, 1-6 MVC) opened up the game on an 11-0 run and held the Salukis to only nine points in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Shockers continued their defensive dominance and forced seven turnovers. They held the Salukis to another nine-point quarter. A buzzer-beater 3-pointer by freshman forward Iyar Francis gave Wichita State a 19-point a 37-18 lead at the half.

Sophomore guard Diamond Lockhart had a big first half with 15 points and four rebounds, while shooting 85 percent from the field. She finished with 19 points.

SIU turned things around offensively in the second half. The Salukis opened up the third quarter on a 12-0 run with senior center Dyana Pierre’s registering eight of those points to cut the lead to six. She finished the game with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

The Salukis shrunk the Shocker lead to two points, but couldn’t overcome poor shooting, going on a 2-13 drought in the second half.

The victory gave the Shockers their first win in conference play in 10 months and dropped SIU into a three way tie for second place in the Valley with Missouri State and Loyola.

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The Salukis are back at it against Missouri State at 7 p.m. Sunday in Springfield, Mo.

Ted Ward can be reached at [email protected] or 618-534-3303