Carbondale Reporter

Southern Illinois University's women's basketball team is set to play its first road game of the season against Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday. The matchup will take place at the Gates Sports Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with tipoff scheduled for 4 p.m. CST. Fans can follow live results through the official Mastodons website, watch on ESPN+, or listen via The Varsity Network.

In their season opener on November 4, Southern Illinois defeated Division II Lewis University 69-53. Alayna Kraus, a transfer from Oral Roberts, led the Salukis with 16 points and shot 55% from the field. Karris Allen contributed 14 points, while Jeniah Thompson and Kayla Cooper each added 12 points. The team’s defense recorded 12 steals, three blocks, and forced a total of 17 turnovers. They also limited Lewis to just two successful three-point shots out of seventeen attempts.

This upcoming game marks only the second meeting between Southern Illinois and Purdue Fort Wayne. Their previous encounter was on November 15, 2023, when Fort Wayne secured a 70-64 victory at SIU.

Purdue Fort Wayne enters this contest with a record of one win and two losses. After starting the season with two defeats, they earned their first win by narrowly beating Purdue University 68-67 at home on Wednesday. The Mastodons have made consecutive appearances in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (NIT), reaching the fourth round in 2025 before losing to Cleveland State and advancing to the third round in 2024 before being eliminated by Saint Louis.

Fans interested in updates about Southern Illinois women’s basketball can follow @SIU_WBasketball on Twitter and Instagram or visit Facebook.com/SalukiAthletics. The “Salukis” Mobile App is available for download from both the App Store and Google Play Store.