Carbondale Reporter

Southern Illinois University’s women’s basketball team will begin its 2025-26 season on Tuesday, November 4, with a home game against Lewis University at the Banterra Center in Carbondale. The match is scheduled for 11 a.m. and can be followed through live stats, streamed on ESPN+, or listened to via The Varsity Network.

The Salukis are coming off a challenging 2024-25 season, finishing with a record of 4-26 overall and 2-18 in conference play. Their victories last year were over IU-Indy, Central Methodist (Mo.), Indiana State, and Evansville. The season ended with an 88-48 loss to Illinois State in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

Gift Uchenna was SIU’s only All-MVC selection last season, earning Third Team honors and being named to the All-Newcomer team. Uchenna set new program records for rebounds per game (12.7) and total rebounds (369), led the conference in rebounding categories, and ranked second nationally for rebounding before transferring to Wisconsin.

In preseason rankings released by the MVC on October 22, Southern Illinois was picked to finish tenth out of eleven teams. Belmont topped the poll with 446 points and 25 first-place votes, followed by Murray State, Illinois State, and Drake.

Several key players return this season for SIU. Kayla Cooper led the team in minutes played last year and averaged 9.8 points per game—the highest among returning players—along with ranking second in assists. Tkiyah Nelson also returns after leading the team in assists (76) and steals (48), as well as averaging 4.1 rebounds per game among returners. Kelowna Ngoyi and Mia Gaines are back as additional experienced players who logged significant minutes last year.

The roster features several newcomers expected to contribute immediately. Indya Green joins from Georgia Southern after starting all games last season and averaging 12 points and 8.8 rebounds per contest; she was named an MVC Player to Watch ahead of her second stint in the league after two seasons at Missouri State. Alayna Kraus transfers from Oral Roberts where she played as a freshman last year; she was also named an MVC Player to Watch.

Other additions include Kynnedi Davis from Trinity Valley Community College, Hiba Malkawi from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, and Carmen Morales from Benedictine College.

Tuesday’s matchup marks the first meeting between SIU and Lewis University in program history. For Lewis—a Division II school—the contest counts as an exhibition; for SIU it is part of their regular season schedule.

After facing Lewis, Southern Illinois will play road games at Purdue Fort Wayne on November 15 and Missouri on November 18 before briefly returning home against Austin Peay on November 23. The Salukis will then compete in Nashville at the Coast 2 Coast Music City Classic against Winthrop on November 25 and Arkansas on November 26 before hosting Western Kentucky on November 30.

Non-conference play concludes December 6 against SEMO at home before Missouri Valley Conference action begins December 18 at Bradley. The regular season wraps up March 8 at Evansville, with postseason play set for Coralville, Iowa during the MVC Credit Union 1 Women’s Basketball Tournament at Xtream Arena.

Fans can follow updates about the team via social media platforms including Twitter (@SIU_WBasketball), Instagram (@SIU_WBasketball), Facebook (Facebook.com/SalukiAthletics), or through the “Salukis” Mobile App available for download on both major app stores.