After a heartbreaking loss to Illinois State on Friday, the SIU women’s basketball team took the floor at Banterra Center hungry for a win.

The Salukis defeated the Bradley University Braves, who are currently first place seed in the MVC, 64-50 this afternoon. 

“I was impressed with a lot of the kids play today,” head coach Cindy Stein said. “Brittany Patrick had a really solid game at point guard with six steals, six assists and six turnovers, you don’t see that everyday. Makenzie hit some big shots but more importantly she was all over number 11 for most of the game.”

Southern (13-7, 6-4 MVC) started off the game on a 9-2 scoring run in the first quarter with junior forward Abby Brockmeyer making her first shot attempt to lead the way with five points including a made 3-pointer.

“It’s huge,” Brockmeyer said. “Once you hit down your first shot you feel like every shot after is going to go in. It’s really big and all my teammates find me open so it’s somewhat easier when you’re open to make a shot.”

Bradley made their first basket on a jumper from junior guard Gabbi Hack three minutes into the first quarter.

At the end of the first quarter, the Southern led the Braves 15-9 with Brockmeyer leading the charge with seven points. 

Hack was the top scorer for the Braves at this time with four points.

The Salukis earned their biggest lead during this time on a made 3-pointer by junior guard Mackenzie Silvey with 8:51 left in the second quarter.

The Braves (16-4, 7-2 MVC) would quickly go on a 6-0 scoring run in 58 seconds making the score 20-17. 

Southern went on a 11-0 scoring run in the next six minutes giving them a 31-17 lead with 3:38 left in the second quarter.

The Braves made a 3-point basket coming from sophomore guard Lasha Petree at the buzzer signaling the end of the first half. 

At the end of the first half the SIU held a 34-25 lead over the Braves. 

Brockmeyer had 10 points and five rebounds at the half, while Petree led the way for Bradley with eight points. 

SIU started off the second half a 6-2 scoring run with in 3:07 with 6:53 left in the third quarter. Southern would not score again until there was just over a minute remaining within the period. 

During this time, they made three straight three pointers, all coming from Silvey including a buzzer beater to end the quarter on a 9-0 scoring run and pushing the lead to 49-33. 

“I think it was a really big boost,” Silvey said. “I mean it got the crowd going as well and it was just a lot of momentum and it gave us a nice cushion going into the fourth quarter.”

These 3-pointers gave the junior guard her 18th point, making her Southern’s top scorer for the night. 

“It was big,” Stein said. “We always get excited when Makenzie hits some shots because we know that she is able to put up a lot of points quickly in a small amount of time and that was a great example of it. She played extremely hard defensively and when you can play that hard defensively you have the fruits of the labor of getting some offensive points those things are huge.”

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Salukis struggled to score, but they were able to hold onto the lead they had and secure a 64-50 win. 

On the defensive side of the ball, the Salukis dominated as Bradley only hit 3-of-14 attempted three point shots. 

“It was a big emphasis,” Silvey said. “We did a good job eliminating their touches and really holding [key players] below their averages today.”

At the end of the game, Silvey had rallied 26 points and four rebounds, while Brockmeyer finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.

For Bradley, Petree was the top scorer with 12 points and four rebounds.

SIU will take the floor again on Friday at Drake with a 6:00 p.m. tip-off. 

Zach Kramer can be reached at [email protected].

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