Same scene, different arena and a much different result.

The SIUC women’s basketball team had the lead and a pair of fouls to give, but unlike the first matchup against Illinois State University in Carbondale Jan. 6, the Salukis did not blow it.

This time, SIUC held on to beat Illinois State 57-54 Saturday in Normal.

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Up by three points, the Salukis had a couple of chances to make it a two-possession game at the free throw line. But both senior guard Beth Hasheider and sophomore center Melaniece Bardley missed the open end of one-and-one free throws.

We knew we had two fouls to give, and we got them both, women’s head coach Cindy Scott said. I thought when Beth went to that line, she would hit that for us, but she didn’t. Then we knew they were going to have to take that three with two seconds to go.

But the Redbirds’ Kristin Valdez missed the shot and the Salukis won.

The Salukis have won two games in a row and keep sole possession of eight place in the Missouri Valley Conference. Only the top eight teams get a spot in the MVC Tournament in Springfield, Mo., March 5-7.

I think maybe we will find our way to Springfield for the conference tournament, Scott said. That was going to be unbelievably disappointing if you don’t make it to the conference tournament.

And we still are a long way from the conference tournament, and we’re certainly not going to project ahead. But to win these two games on the road will certainly enhance our chances of getting there.

With the win, the Salukis now have a 4-7 record in conference play and a 7-12 mark overall. The Redbirds are 6-5 in the conference and 8-11 overall.

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Sophomore forward O’Desha Proctor led all scoring with 17 points. Hasheider had 11 points and made three of four treys. Her three-pointer with 4:15 left in the game gave the Salukis the lead.

The Salukis dominated the boards to a tune of 37-27, and freshman center Kristine Abramowski led the way with a game-high nine rebounds to go with her six points.

Heading into the game, Illinois State’s Jenny Schmidt was averaging 15.6 points per game, which was good for fifth in the conference, but the Salukis held Schmidt to 11 points. ISU’s leading scorer was Valerie Trame, who had 13 points.

Both teams began the game shooting well from the field. The Redbirds had the edge in the first half, shooting 57 percent from the field and 60 percent from beyond the three-point line. The Salukis put up a 46 percent shooting mark, but the red-hot Redbirds were too much in the first half and led 36-29 at halftime.

I thought we played very well in the first half, Scott said. We shot the ball well. And they shot extremely well in the first half. I really didn’t think they would continue to shoot it at that rate.

Defensively, we were doing what we wanted to do. We weren’t at all disappointed in what we had done in the first half. We felt like we needed to contest their shots a little bit.

The second half was a much different story for the Redbirds who went cold with a meager 28 percent shooting performance from the field. They also were scoreless the last four minutes of the game.

The Salukis shot 42 percent from the field and improved their three-point shooting, converting four of seven.

Saluki senior center Theia Hudson only had four field goal attempts and converted on two of them. She and sophomore guard Meredith Jackson combined for a total of seven points.

Though the Salukis’ leading scorers were quieted, Scott was pleased with her team’s ability to come away with a win on the road.

It was a great team effort, Scott said. Our kids are thrilled and rightfully so because it was really a good game. Both teams shot the ball well. I don’t know how, but we found a way to win, and I am thankful for it.

The Salukis return to Carbondale for a conference matchup with the University of Evansville at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday.