EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE spread the wealth offensively and rolled Saturday to a 94-77 triumph over Morehead State in the Senior Day game at First Community Arena.
With the win, SIUE will be the No. 7 seed in next week's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Presented by Ticketsmarter. The Cougars will face sixth-seeded UT Martin in a 3:30 p.m. contest Wednesday at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ as well as on radio at 88.7 The Sound.
SIUE Head Coach Samantha Quigley Smith talked after the game about how important the eight seniors (Mikia Keith, Gabby Nikitinaite, Mikala Hall, Allie Troeckler, Prima Chellis, Madison Hackstadt, Masyn McWilliams and Kelsie Williams) have been to the program.
"I'm so thankful that our seniors have had such a great buy-in," said Smith. "You are a new coach and a new staff. You want implement everything you want to do from a culture standpoint, from a relationship standpoint from a basketball X and O standpoint. I can't thank them enough."
SIUE's seniors led the way in the final home game of the season with 18 from Keith, 17 from Nikitinaite and 15 from Hall.
That more than doubled the previous season high for Hall.
"She came in aggressive and ready to play," said Smith. "She took this moment and shined."
Morehead State ended the season 1-27 and 0-18 in the OVC. Julan McDonald led the Eagles in scoring with 24 points.
Saturday's win lifted SIUE to a 12-17 record overall and an 8-10 mark in the OVC.
"We had some great non-conference wins and now we're making noise in the OVC," noted Smith.
The Cougars used a big push from its bench, which scored 49 of the team's season-high 94 points. SIUE shot 31 of 75 from the field and 11 of 25 from three-point range.
The attention now turns to the OVC Tournament. Smith said the Cougars have been planning and building to this moment for a while.
"We want to play more basketball," she said. "In order to do that, we have to bring it every moment."
