EDWARDSVILLE – SIUE women's basketball fell to offensive struggles Wednesday at the First Community Arena in the Vadalabene Center.
The Cougars made 12 of 61 shots in a 68-35 loss to rival Saint Louis University. The Billikens improved to 4-1 while the Cougars dropped to 1-4.
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"It was almost a nightmare offensively for us," said SIUE Head Coach Paula Buscher. "Part of it is that we have to take better shots because offensively, we all weren't on the same page."
Christen King and Mikia Keith both scored six points to lead the Cougars. Teammate Allie Troeckler contributed 10 rebounds, including seven off the offensive glass.
Kendra Wilken paced the Billikens. She made all seven of her floor shots, scored a career-best 19 points and tied her career-high with 10 rebounds.
"She had a big night. Give her credit for it," Buscher said.
SIUE trailed by 27-19 score at halftime even though the Cougars connected on 6 of 29 shots the first half.
"I thought as poorly as we played offensively in the first half, we were still in the game," Buscher said. "I figured we still could make a run at them in the second half. But we couldn't get it going offensively in the second half as well. We couldn't turn the corner."
Next up for the Cougars is a trip to Columbia, Missouri, to take on Missouri Sunday at 2 p.m.
"We're going to be evolving, so we need to stay strong and trust the process," she said. "We will regroup."
Following Sunday's game, the Cougars are idle until Wednesday, Dec. 4, when they play host to Purdue Fort Wayne at 5:30. SIUE also welcomes Loyola at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 8.
"It's an exceptionally tough part of our schedule, but I'm OK with that," Buscher said.
