NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State shot 53 percent from the field and defeated SIUE women's basketball 74-53 on its Education Day in front of 1,835 fans at Redbird Arena.

"I thought they shot the ball well," said SIUE Head Coach Paula Buscher. "Give credit to them that they knocked down shots."

Lexi Wallen led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. Mary Crompton pumped in 16 points while Paige Saylor added 13. The Redbirds shot 22 of 52 from the field as a team.

The Cougars fell behind 19-9 after the first period and weren't able to close the gap on the Redbirds, now 7-2.

"Everybody needs to step up," said Buscher. "We have the potential, but everybody needs to step up."

Kelsie Williams stepped off the bench with eight points for the Cougars.

"Kelsie did a solid job off the bench," Buscher said. "We were able to get her some touches down low and she was motivated."

Mikala Hall was SIUE's top scorer with nine points. She hit three three-pointers for the second straight game.

Buscher said the Cougars were better once post players received more touches on the offensive end.

"When we're locked in, we are right there with these team," said Buscher. "We just need to understand the level of fight that's needed at this level of basketball."

SIUE, 2-7, is headed to Georgia for the Georgia State Tournament. The Cougars face North Alabama Saturday and host Georgia State Sunday.