WKU Women’s Basketball dominated the third quarter over Southern Illinois to earn a 60-52 road win Sunday afternoon, ending its three-game losing streak.

A competitive first half saw a four-point WKU lead after the first and second quarters. Senior guard Tia Shelling and senior forward Mya Pratcher put the Lady Toppers on their backs in the third. The duo combined for a 9-0 scoring run and contributed 14 of the team’s 16 points in the period.

WKU maintained a comfortable lead through the first quarter. SIU did not go down without a fight in the second, taking its first lead off a 5-0 scoring run. Neither team led by more than six going into halftime.

Senior forward Zsofia Telegdy took an elbow to the face in WKU’s loss to Illinois, forcing her to get stitches. Yet, her game remained unharmed. She shot the lights out in the first half, going 5-5 from beyond the arc. She also posted the only 40-minute performance among the Lady Toppers.

“I was proud of her effort to come back from that elbow and those stitches and not let that affect her and be able to give us a good 40 minutes,” Head Coach Greg Collins said.

The Salukis trailed by as little as four in the fourth, brought about by a 5-0 run to start the quarter. The game remained scoreless for over four minutes in the final period, but WKU pulled away in the final minute to take the win.

Shelling finished as the Lady Toppers’ leading scorer, recording five rebounds and 16 points on 6-9 field-goal shooting.

The Lady Toppers will return home to face Florida Atlantic Wednesday night, Dec. 3.