In Sunday’s annual White Out game, the Salukis women’s basketball team fell short to the Drake Bulldogs (9-7, 4-0 MVC), 75-64.

Southern came into the contest looking to continue its flawless conference record and become the first team in program history to begin 4-0 in MVC play.

The Bulldogs got off to a hot start with two 3-pointers that sparked a 10-3 run to open the game.

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Behind six points from senior guard Kylie Giebelhausen, Southern responded late in the quarter with a 10-4 run that gave the Salukis their first lead of the game at 15-14.

Drake’s sharpshooting continued, however, and the Bulldogs sank a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the quarter with a 23-18 lead.

Despite sophomore forward Nicole Martin’s ten points and six rebounds off the bench in the second quarter, Drake held its lead and took a 38-32 advantage into halftime.

Once again, Southern was riddled with turnovers in the first half. The Bulldogs forced ten Saluki turnovers — five via steals —that led to 17 points off of turnovers.

“They were our mistakes,” Giebelhausen said. “We tried to force things instead of slowing it down.”

Down by nine early in the third quarter, SIU bounced back with a layup and 3-pointer from freshman guard Makenzie Silvey that brought the score to 43-39. Silvey, along with Giebelhausen, led the team in scoring with 13 points in the contest.

At the midway point in the quarter, the Bulldogs found their groove and went on an 18-7 run. The scoring spurt gave Drake its largest lead of the game at 61-46.

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“They made us work so hard on defense that it took away from our offense,” head coach Cindy Stein said.

The Salukis never gained any ground on the Bulldogs and ultimately lost 75-64. The victory launched Drake into sole possession of first place in the MVC.

“I felt like we battled,” Stein said. “I’m proud of them.”

Southern (8-7, 3-1 MVC) will head to Peoria on Jan. 12 to take on Bradley. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

“This was a great game for us,” Stein said. “It showed us what we need to do to get better.”

Sports reporter Dillon Gilliland can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @DillonGilliland.

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