Carbondale Reporter

The Southern Illinois University women's basketball team faced a challenging game against Northern Iowa, resulting in their fifth consecutive loss with a score of 87-51. The game took place on Saturday in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Northern Iowa displayed strong performance throughout the match, achieving a shooting percentage of 53% from the field and 45% from three-point range. In contrast, Southern Illinois struggled offensively, managing only 28% from the field and 31% from beyond the arc. However, they found some success at the free throw line, converting 13 out of 15 attempts for an impressive 87%.

Turnovers were a significant issue for Southern Illinois as they committed 19 turnovers compared to forcing just 12. Northern Iowa excelled defensively with more blocks (7-0), steals (12-2), and assists (17-2) than their opponents.

Sophomore Kayla Cooper led Southern Illinois with 14 points. Senior Tyranny Brown contributed with 12 points while junior Gift Uchenna recorded her 17th double-double of the season with 11 points and an impressive 19 rebounds. Uchenna is now close to breaking SIU's single-season rebounding record set by Dyana Pierre in 2015.

Throughout all four quarters, Northern Iowa maintained consistent scoring without dropping below 19 points per quarter and achieved a game-high of 25 points in the third quarter. Despite scoring a team-high of 17 points in the fourth quarter, Southern Illinois was still outscored by Northern Iowa who scored 23 points in that period.

Southern Illinois will travel to Nashville for their next matchup against Belmont on Thursday at 6 p.m.

For updates on the Salukis' games and news, fans can follow them on Twitter at @SIU_WBasketball, Instagram at @SIU_WBasketball, or Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiAthletics. Additionally, fans can download the "Salukis" Mobile App available on both App Store and Google Play Store.