SIU women’s basketball defeated SIU-Edwardville 71-57 on Friday at SIU Arena.

The Salukis (4-3) beat the Cougars (3-5) after a fast 13-2 start, hitting five of their first six shots, three of which came from the three-point line.

“I feel like we’re finally starting to gel as a team, and I felt like we hit on all cylinders to start the game and we played very scrappy defense,” coach Cindy Stein said.

SIUE got within two in the third quarter, but did not get any closer as the Salukis pulled away in the fourth.

Junior guard Rishonda Napier led the team with 18 points to go along with six rebounds.

The Salukis created havoc defensively, forcing 14 turnovers and scoring 19 points off them.

Sophomore forward/guard Kylie Giebelhausen said that the team was more active and aggressive on defense than in previous games.

“We had a better defensive rhythm with us and we got out and sprinted the full length of the floor, got back in transition to get set defensively and it showed,” she said.

SIU will play Illinois at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the State Farm Arena in Champaign.

Ted Ward can be reached at [email protected] or 536-3304