EDWARDSVILLE – SIUE women's basketball complemented an electric crowd of elementary students at the Vadalabene Center with its biggest offensive output of the season Wednesday with a 94-75 victory over Austin Peay.
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The Cougars improved to 15-11 overall and 10-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference, utilizing 2,369 fans made up mostly of area elementary students who used a field trip day sponsored by Phillips 66 Wood River Refinery to spark the victory.
"Awesome atmosphere," said SIUE Head Coach Paula Buscher. "Our team fed off the energy of all the kids, and I thought that was cool. I give credit to our marketing department and our whole athletic department. I thank everyone for stepping in, especially Phillips 66 for giving us the opportunity."
Sidney Smith tied the school record for three-pointers made in a game with eight, equaling the record set by Whitney Sykes during the 2005-06 season and Jazmin Hill during the 2011-12 season.
"She got hot early," said Buscher. "Give credit to the rest of the players for finding her and credit to her for knocking them down."
Shronda Butts was part of more than half of SIUE's points as she scored 30 and added a team-high 10 assists.
"Shronda came right out of the gate playing strong and getting some good penetration to the basket along with her three-point shot," said Buscher. "She did a great job getting other people involved.
As a team, SIUE shot 72.2 percent (13-18) from three-point range. Butts shot 4 of 5 from beyond the arc, and Erin Kelley added one in the second half. SIUE shot 53.3 percent for the game (32-60) and knocked down 17 of 21 from the free throw line.
"I'm proud that we had 20 assists and nine turnovers," said Buscher. "When you have that ratio, you really know they're sharing the ball and finding the open player."
Tearra Banks led Austin Peay with 21 points off the bench. Beth Rates scored 15 for the Governors, and Tiasha Gray added a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists. Austin Peay dropped to 8-15 overall and 4-8 in the OVC.
The Cougars started the event by honoring their four seniors, playing in their final home game of the season. Butts, Kelley, CoCo Moore and Raven Warford started the game with sophomore Donshel Beck.
"They've all been here for different spans of time, but they've bought into the program. They care a lot about each other. It was great to send them off on a positive note today," added Buscher.
SIUE now heads to the road for its final three games of the regular season.
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