EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – After being down by seven points in the third quarter, EKU women's basketball completes a late surge to beat SIU Edwardsville 74-72 off a buzzer-beater on Thursday night at First Community Arena to move to 2-0 on the season.
 
EKU's victory against its old conference foe marked the 700th win in program history. Junior forward Jasmine McGinnis-Taylor caught a lob off a side-out play with 1.2 seconds on the clock and put the ball back up to secure the win for the Colonels. The basket was her first career points in the maroon and white.
 
The Colonels had three student-athletes in double-figure scoring, led by Ivy Turner who totaled 16 points, four assists, and two made three-pointers. 
 
Alice Recanati (15) and Brie Crittendon (13) were the other two Colonels in double figures. All 15 of Recanati's points came in the second half.
 
Forward Sierra McCullough recorded her second straight game with 10-or-more rebounds, bringing down 10 boards with eight points and 80 percent shooting from the floor. EKU outrebounded the Cougars 39-35 and scored 42 of its 74 points in the paint.
 
Freshman Kailani Lindsey recorded six points on 1-of-1 shooting and 80 percent from the free throw line.
 
EKU opened Thursday's game on a 9-2 run off of made three-pointers from Turner, Crittendon, and Raphaela Toussaint. Despite the Colonels extending its largest lead to 12 twice in the first quarter, the Cougars clawed their way back to six to end the frame.
 
SIUE tied the game twice in the second quarter, made baskets by Crittendon and Turner would keep the Cougars at bay entering the halftime break with a two-point 32-30 lead.
 
The Cougars opened the second half on an 8-2 run, halted by a Recanati floater and two made free throws from Turner. Lindsey played crucial minutes in the third quarter, scoring an and-one and two additional free throws to narrow the deficit to six. Another Crittendon three-pointer brought EKU within three points, 51-48, as the third quarter ended.
 
SIUE extended its lead back to seven points at 6:40 in the last quarter. Three straight trips with an EKU basket by Recanati and McCullough brought the Colonels to one at the media timeout. EKU took the lead with another Recanati lay, her ninth point of the quarter.
 
McCullough carried EKU to the finish line with three offensive boards and two made baskets with under a minute left in regulation. SIUE converted an and-one with one second left on the clock, forcing EKU head coach Greg Todd to use his final timeout to advance the ball to the other side of the court.
 
Out of the timeout, Recanati lobbed a ball to a waiting McGinnis-Taylor in the post, who caught the ball and popped up a shot as the horn sounded to send EKU back to Richmond with its first 2-0 start under Todd's leadership.
 
With the win, EKU moves to 3-0 against former Ohio Valley Conference opponents since departing the league in 2021.
 
SIUE had four players in double-figure scoring while shooting 43/39/90 splits from the floor.
 
EKU returns home with a big non-conference game against regional rival Northern Kentucky on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 2 p.m.  Fans can purchase tickets at just $3 on EKUSports.com for Crowd the Coliseum Day.  There will be a t-shirt giveaway for fans in attendance.