CARBONDALE, Ill. – An impressive first-half three-point barrage was the difference on Saturday afternoon as the University of Evansville women's basketball team fell 74-56 to Southern Illinois at SIU Arena.
"I thought we showed a lot of what we can do in the first quarter, but we can't allow teams to get away from us like they did in the second," UE head coach Oties Epps said. "We need to make better decisions offensively, and we have to put more pressure on their shooters. We looked good at certain spots today, but we still need to find that consistency. Southern Illinois has a lot of seniors and a lot of experience, and that definitely showed today."
The Aces (2-14, 1-4 MVC), who trailed 15-14 after the opening 10 minutes, fell victim to an SIU offense that connected on nine three-pointers in the first half to give the Salukis a 40-20 lead at the break. The hosts were 13-of-30 from distance on the day, with Rishonda Napier and Kylie Giebelhausen combining to go 9-of-16 beyond the arc and 11-of-20 overall for 32 points. Dyana Pierre led SIU (11-6, 4-1 MVC) in the post, finishing the afternoon with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
Meanwhile, UE was led by the duo of Kenyia Johnson and Sara Dickey, who combined for 23 points. Dickey currently ranks fifth in school history with 1,404 career points, and she was 5-of-17 from the field on Saturday, scoring 13 points and pulling down a team-best nine rebounds.
As a team, the Salukis out-rebounded the Aces 42-28, resulting in 22 second-chance points to UE's 11.
The Aces will return to road action next weekend as they pay a visit to both Missouri State and Wichita State.
NOTES: UE is 26-27 all-time versus Southern Illinois … In road contests, the Aces are 11-14 … Former Ace Khristian Hart led UE in scoring in the Carbondale win last season, racking up 19 points … Dickey now stands 26 points shy of No. 4 on UE's all-time scoring list … Barb Dykstra, who graduated in 1986, currently occupies that spot with 1,430 career points … Sasha Robinson is 41 rebounds shy of joining UE's all-time top 10.
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