SIU women’s basketball (2-1) beat Tennessee State (0-2) 79-70 in overtime of the second day of the Preseason Women’s National Invitational Tournament consolation round.

Senior center Dyana Pierre recorded a double-double, finishing with 27 points and equaling her career high for rebounds with 21.

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Tennessee State caused a lot of problems for SIU offensively, as the Dawgs turned the ball over 20 times, giving up 14 points.

Saluki coach Cindy Stein said she was relieved her team won this game against a tough opponent. 

“They were a handful. They played great defense and forced us to execute in any way possible, but I’m proud of the way our kids played,” she said.

Three-point shooting kept SIU in it during the first half as they shot 57.1 percent from the perimeter.

Sophomore forward/guard Kylie Giebelhausen finished the game with 16 points. She went four for eight from the three-point line. She said she felt more confident after hitting two more three-pointers in the Siena game on Friday.

“I’d been in a little bit of a shooting slump but I’m starting to get more of my confidence back now as more shots fall for me,” Giebelhausen said. 

After knocking off Siena 76-54, a game in which SIU outscored the Saints 30-6 in the third quarter, the Salukis looked to continue the momentum against the Lady Tigers.

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Tennessee State led by as many as 10 in the game, scoring points largely off second-chance opportunities.

“Our defense was being lazy and not talking as much as we should and it showed,” Pierre said. “They’re an aggressive team and they’re not afraid to box out and go up and get a rebound.”

The Salukis pulled ahead by three in the fourth quarter until Tennessee State senior guard Brianna Lawrence hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 63 with 2.7 seconds remaining.

In overtime, SIU put the game out of reach by attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line where they converted all six attempts.

On the sidelines before overtime, Pierre said the mindset was the same for everyone.

“We knew now we [had to] go play and close it out and not make it hard on ourselves,” she said.

The Salukis next game is against Tennessee-Martin at 7 p.m. Wednesday at SIU Arena.

Ted Ward can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @TedWard_DE