SPRINGFIELD, MO – The SIU Women’s Basketball Team (8-6, MVC 1-2) fell 66-51 to conference foe, Missouri State (6-7, MVC 2-0), losing their second straight conference game.

This afternoon’s game was the women’s first conference road loss of the season.

This game marked the 82nd meeting of the two teams dating back to 1971 and gave the Lady Bears their 53rd win in the all time series versus SIU.

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After tonight’s loss the Dawgs now trail 53-29 in the rivalry series.

The Saluki entered the game looking to shake of a conference loss handed to them by Indiana State, while the Lady Bears came into the matchup with a 2-0 conference record, one that included a 71-58 win over Indiana State.

Southern still remains winless at JQH Arena with their last road win against the Lady Bears taking place in 2006, before it the arena was built.

A pair of Missouri State free throws opened the scoring in tonight’s matchup.

This was immediately followed by a quick jumper from junior forward Nicole Martin to give SIU a small lead.

Martin then scored two more mid-range jumpers without an answer from the Lady Bears bringing the score to 6-1.

Martin was the leading scorer for SIU with 19 points and seven rebounds.

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Before Southern could stretch their lead, Missouri State guard Alexa Willard scored two back-to-back jumpers to tie the score up at 6-6.

A jumper by sophomore guard Makenzie Silvey put the Salukis ahead only for the score to be tied once again on a layup from the Lady Bears.

Silvey finished tonight’s game with ten points and seven rebounds.

A three point play for Missouri State allowed them to take their first lead of the game over the Dawgs at 11-8.

Despite a basket being scored by Martin, the Lady Bears refused to give up their lead scoring two more baskets before the end of the quarter.

Missouri State led Southern, 15-10, at the end of the first quarter.

Turnovers and fouls seemed to hold SIU back in the second quarter as the Lady Bears scored three unanswered baskets against them before the five minute mark.

A split pair of free throws by freshman guard Payton McCallister added only a single point to the board for the Salukis, making the score 21-11.

While Missouri State continued to dominate the quarter, Southern continued to struggle with scoring only putting up one more basket in the final seconds of the half.

At halftime, the Lady Bears were up 29-14 on the Dawgs.

While Missouri State kept their momentum entering the third quarter, SIU found theirs through sophomore forward Abby Brockmeyer as she opened the scoring for the Salukis by getting to the free throw line.

Brockmeyer scored eight points and went on to lead the team in rebounds with 11.

From there we saw two straight Southern baskets with a short jumper from Martin and a three point basket from Silvey.

Willard seemed to be the driving force for the Lady Bears as she answered these baskets with two over her own to keep her team up 38-21.

Willard finished the game as Missouri State’s leading scorer with 18 points.

Martin and Silvey continued to lead the way for SIU scoring two more baskets each, but the Missouri State offense showed no sign of letting up giving the Dawgs an answer for every basket they scored.

A three point play by Brockmeyer closed the quarter making the score 45-34 going into the fourth with Southern trailing by more than ten points.

Willard opened the final quarter in scoring making a pair of free throws after being fouled by SIU’s junior guard Kristen Nelson.

Junior point guard Brittney Patrick then hit a three pointer to bring the Salukis within ten points of the Lady Bears, but just seconds later a foul called on the Dawgs would allow Missouri State to score on a three point play.

Southern continued in the fight to put points on the board, but the Lady Bears continued to attack the holes in their defense to keep the lead.

Brockmeyer and Nelson scored back-to-back baskets for SIU to make the score 56-44 with just over three minutes left in the final quarter.

Missouri State once again had an answer for the Dawgs scoring two straight baskets of their own.

After the final timeout called by Southern, Nelson scored two more quick baskets making the score 62-49.

Despite the effort by the SIU team, the Lady Bears continued to score points to establish a strong lead and the Salukis were unable to top them.

As time expired from the clock Silvey scored one last basket to make the final score of the game 66-51.

The women’s team will be back in action this Friday at Redbird Arena to take on Illinois State with tip off set at 7 p.m.

Sports reporter Tamar Mosby can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @mosbytamar.

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