Mastodon WBB Turns Focus to Southern Illinois

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Fresh off a 68-67 win over Purdue, the Purdue Fort Wayne women's basketball team will look to start a win streak with a game against Southern Illinois on Saturday (Nov. 15) at 5 p.m. It will be a doubleheader with the men's team, which plays Boyce at 2 p.m.

Game Day Information
Who: Southern Illinois Salukis
When: Saturday, November 15 | 5 PM
Where: Fort Wayne, Ind. | Gates Sports Center
Live Stats: Link
Watch: ESPN+
Radio: Link
Tickets: Link
Game Notes: Purdue Fort Wayne | Southern Illinois | Horizon League

Know Your Foe
Southern Illinois is 1-0 this season after opening the season with a 69-53 win over Lewis. The Salukis have been off since that game on November 4. SIU had five players score in double-figures in the win, led by 16 points from Alayna Kraus. The Salukis are coming off a 4-26 season a year ago.

Series History
Purdue Fort Wayne leads the all-time series 3-0 with the last game coming in 2023. The Mastodons forced overtime in that game in Carbondale, finishing regulation on a 13-2 run. Shayla Sellers had 20 points in the win.

B1G Wins!
Purdue Fort Wayne's 68-67 win over Purdue on Nov. 12 was the Mastodons'...
• First-ever win over Purdue in eight tries
• Second-ever win over a Big Ten team in program history (Michigan State, 2013)
• Third win over a power conference foe under Maria Marchesano (Cincinnati, 2024; Butler, 2025; Purdue, 2025)

Bess Shot, Best Shot
Rylee Bess' game-winner over Purdue was the first Mastodon game-winner with under 30 seconds left since Lauren Ross at Cleveland State last season. Bess is the first Mastodon freshman to hit a game-winner in the program's Division I history.

Beating the B1G
Purdue Fort Wayne was the third team in the country to beat a member of the Big Ten this season. Marquette beat Wisconsin 65-62 on November 8, Stony Brook beat Rutgers 71-54 on November 9 and Purdue Fort Wayne beat Purdue 68-67 on November 12.

Reid-ing the Defense
Jordan Reid had a career-high 21 points against Purdue on November 12. In her career against the Boilermakers, she averaged 16.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals while shooting 44.4 percent from the field (12-of-27) and 44.4 percent (2-for-5) from three.

What's Up Fort Wayne?
There was an announced attendance of 1,158 fans for the Purdue Fort Wayne game against Purdue. It was the largest crowd at the Gates Sports Center for a women's game since 2019, and the most for a non-doubleheader/Fitness Day since 2006, when Indiana came to town in front of 1,801 fans.

Bench Mob
Purdue Fort Wayne's bench is out-scoring its opponents benches 63-48 this season.

Inside The Arc? Guaranteed Bucket
Lili Krasovec is shooting 80.0 percent from the floor this season (12-for-15). If she qualified for the leaderboard with enough attempts, she would lead the Horizon League in the field goal percentage category.

Sharing The Sugar
Lili Krasovec had seven assists at Xavier (Nov. 7), matching the most for a Mastodon since Destinee Marshall had nine in a game in 2024. She is the first non-guard to have that seven or more assists since Laura Douglas in 2001.

Reid-Bounder
Jordan Reid had 10 rebounds at Xavier (Nov. 7), which set a new career-high.

Nelson the Hooper
Alana Nelson scored a Division I career-high of 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting at Xavier (Nov. 7). She was 5-for-8 from 3-point range, marking the most 3-point makes by a Mastodon since Lauren Ross against Cleveland State in the 2025 Horizon League Championship.

Bess Is Best
Rylee Bess had four steals at West Virginia, which was the first time a Mastodon freshman ever had four steals against a power conference opponent. Kayla Drake was the only other 'Don to do so; she had four steals against Louisville in 2010. Drake was a redshirt-sophomore.

Watch Out For Marchesano!
Purdue Fort Wayne head coach Maria Marchesano was selected for the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award Preseason Watch List. The 2025 Horizon League Coach of the Year is the only coach from the Horizon League and the only one from the state of Indiana to be named for the list of 20.

Last Time Out
Purdue Fort Wayne knocked off Purdue 68-67 thanks to a 3-pointer from Rylee Bess with 5.7 seconds left. Jordan Reid scored a career-high 21 points in front of 1,158 fans, the most in the Gates Sports Center for a women's game since 2019.

Next Time Up
Purdue Fort Wayne stays at home next week with a visit from Eastern Michigan on Wednesday (Nov. 19). The Mastodons won 94-49 in Ypsilanti last season.

~ Feel the Rumble ~

Mastodon WBB Turns Focus to Southern Illinois

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Players Mentioned

Rylee Bess

Lili Krasovec

Alana Nelson

Jordan Reid

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics