CARBONDALE, Ill. – Saint Louis University women's basketball team dropped a back-and-forth battle with Southern Illinois here Saturday afternoon, falling 75-67, on the road.

The loss moved the Billikens to 5-6 on the year and 1-4 away from Chaifetz Arena, as SLU shot its second-lowest percentage of the season, going 22-64 from the field (.344).

The Billikens' first points came two full minutes into the matchup with the Salukis after the home team had jumped out to an early 5-0 lead. Peyton Kennedy stopped the run short, draining her 15th three-pointer of the season with eight minutes on the clock. Burning the Billikens on the glass with 15 rebounds to SLU's seven, SIU led 21-15 at the end of the first quarter extending its lead up to as many as 9 in the first period.

SLU earned a defensive stop to start the second period before giving up a 4-0 run to go down by eight points. Nearly three minutes in to the second quarter, Kennedy Calhoun helped shift the momentum to SLU, drawing the foul on a jumper to complete the three-point play. The Salukis quickly answered, draining one from beyond the arc before Calhoun hit one of her own. Camreé Clegg scored her first points of the day shortly after, going 3-3 from the floor early to tie the game at 33, apiece. At the half, the Billikens and Salukis were tied, 37-37, courtesy of a buzzer-beating three by McMakin.

The second half started the same as the first, with Kennedy draining one from beyond the arc before Brooklyn Gray scored for the Billikens on three-straight possessions to give them the narrow, 49-47, advantage. Riding the momentum, Clegg hit another three to extend the Billikens lead. With just over two minutes left in the third quarter, the Billikens enjoyed their largest advantage of the day, leading the Salukis by seven. The Salukis would not be put down, though, going on a 6-0 run to end the third and pull within one. 

The Billikens saw SIU score on back-to-back possessions to re-take the lead early in the final period of play, as SLU shot 13 percent in the last 10 minutes, going 2-16 from the floor. The scoring droughts were too much for the Billikens to overcome, ending the game on 0-6 shooting and dropping the battle with the Salukis, 75-67.

SLU ended the game being out-rebounded 46-30, with Kennedy's six leading the way for the Billikens. McMakin (15), Gray (15) and Clegg (11) reached double-figures in the loss, while the Salukis' Jaidynn Mason led all scorers with 26 points.

The Billikens get a week off before traveling to Green Bay Saturday at 4 p.m.