EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE women's basketball grabbed the opening two points of the contest and led the rest of the way, downing Little Rock, 67-61, on Thursday night at First Community Arena. The Cougars' defense shined bright in the second quarter, limiting the Trojans to just seven points while tallying 20 en route to the victory.
SIUE improves to 4-18 overall and 1-8 against Ohio Valley Conference opponents. Little Rock drops to 7-13 and 6-3.
"I'm just so proud of this group," Head Coach Samantha Quigley Smith said. "Last night, we watched 'Remember the Titans'. If you've never seen the movie, it's very much about a group coming together and finding a way to be successful when everything is going wrong around you. Our group did that today. It's a pivotal part of our season right now, and it's better late than never. It's going to catapult us to something special."
With the win, SIUE captured its first win against Little Rock since the Trojans joined the OVC last season.
"Their ability to guard makes it difficult on the offensive end of the floor," added Smith. "We also did a great job defensively. We put together a strong first half where we held them to 21 points."
Entering the second quarter knotted 14, the Cougars used a 9-0 run to lead Little Rock, 23-15. SIUE outscored the Trojans 20-7 in the period while holding Little Rock's offense to just 18 percent (2-11) from the field while forcing six turnovers.
"It was all on the defensive end," said Smith. "We can score with the best of them. We're going to have our scoring days. When we hold a team to 21 in the first half, if we can repeat that, even in a small aspect, our team is going to see how successful we can be."
SIUE shot 44 percent (12-27) overall while going 6-15 from three-point range and led Little Rock, 34-21, entering the locker room. The Cougars held Little Rock to just 25 percent (7-28) from the field while forcing nine turnovers. SIUE showed tremendous ball control in the first half, turning over the ball just six times.
The Cougars took their largest lead of the night at 21 with 5:46 to play in the third period. Little Rock would flip the script and show promise offensively, ending the quarter on a 10-0 run to trail by 10 at 47-37.
Little Rock continued its offensive success into the final quarter of action, cutting SIUE's lead to just four with 5:31 remaining in the contest. Macy Silvey would counter with a three-pointer a minute later to put SIUE up seven at 54-47. The Cougars would lead by more than five points the rest of the way, as SIUE celebrated its first win of the conference season.
"While we didn't play a great fourth quarter, I think we found ways to figure it out towards the end," said Smith. "We made key free throws down the stretch, but our defense stood out to me. It was special. We've been harping on it for weeks and months – how our defense needs to take a turn. The changing of defensive sets threw Little Rock off a little bit, but this group got down and guarded people at a high level."
Three Cougars finished in double-figures, commanded by 16 points from Halle Smith and Sofie Lowis. Smith went 3-5 from the floor while knocking down 10 of 12 opportunities at the free throw line. She also collected six rebounds, two assists, and a block.
Lowis shot 5-9 from the field, all of which came from three-point land. She tallied four rebounds while pitching in an assist, block, and steal.
Molly Sheehan scored 13 points, going 8-8 at the charity stripe. She led SIUE with four of the Cougars' 15 assists while tying a career-high in rebounds with six. Silvey contributed eight points and four rebounds while Ava Stoller scored six. Stoller also grabbed five boards.
Little Rock was led by Faith Lee's 20 points.
SIUE women's basketball returns home to First Community Arena on Saturday against UT Martin. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
"If we play defense and take care of the basketball, it doesn't matter who's on the other side of the ball," said Smith.
Stay connected with the Cougars all season long by following @SIUEWBB on X, @SIUEWBB on Instagram, and SIUE Women's Basketball on Facebook.
