After a week of seeing no action, the Saluki women’s basketball team played strong from the start in this evening’s match up against Murray State University.

They dominated the Racers in defensive statistics such as rebounding and blocking. 

Not only did the Saluki starters perform well, with two women scoring 20 or more points, the Southern bench added 13 points to the total score which was two times more than Murray’s bench contribution. 

A three-point jumper from senior guard Kristen Nelson got things started for the Salukis early on in the first quarter.

A layup scored by the Racers offense didn’t cause Southern to lose any momentum as they took off on a 5-1 scoring run immediately after to take the lead at 16-4.

While the quarter ended with a Murray State 3-pointer, SIU remained ahead by more than 10 points with the score at 25-11.

The second quarter began with another Saluki 3-pointer, this one coming from junior guard Makenzie Silvey. 

Silvey went on to have a 20 point game and tacked on six rebounds by the end of the evening.

Each team continued to score steadily, but the early run from Southern helped them to hold onto a considerable lead.

The SIU offense in the second period was led by senior forward Nicole Martin, who scored six points in the quarter. This included back-to-back baskets against the Murray defense.

A layup from Martin closed scoring for the first half of the game with Southern ahead 40-27.

Quarter three began with a Martin layup, marking her 13th point of the evening and furthering the Saluki lead.

The senior forward finished the game as the team’s leading scorer with 24 points and six rebounds.

The Racers continued to trail SIU by more than 10 points for the entirety of the quarter despite them going 75% from behind the arc.

Free throws were the key to the Salukis’ third quarter scoring stamina as they went 66% from the line which was 20 higher than that of their opponents percentage.

Southern held a 12 point lead over Murray State at the end of the period.

After early Saluki baskets in the fourth quarter, Murray went on a 5-1 scoring run that put them within five points of SIU which is the closest they had been since the first quarter.

Shortly after the run, the Salukis regained their footing and were able to re-extend their lead back to ten points by the end of the final quarter.

A pair of Southern free throws from senior guard Brittney Patrick closed the game, leaving the final score at 76-66.

SIU will take the floor again in Dekalb, IL to participate in the annual Compass Challenge. They will take on Western Illinois University this Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

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

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