RIO GRANDE, OH - For a second consecutive night, Sophomore Jiahna Flood-Francis scored a game-high 24 points for Salem International University. Rio Grande would be victorious though after scoring 55 first-half points en route to a 97-69 win on Friday night (Nov. 18) in NCAA Division II women's collegiate basketball action.

The Tigers (0-4) return home on Tuesday, November 22 for their opening home contest of the season. SIU will host the Tiffin Dragons at 5:30 pm in the T. Edward Davis Gymnasium. SIU will then hit the road for the rest of November as the Tigers will play in the Virginia State Tournament against the host, Virginia State University on Nov. 25 at 6 pm and against Shaw on Nov. 26 at 1 pm. The Tournament will be held in Petersburg, Virginia.

Flood-Francis garnered Bevo Francis All-Tournament Team honors after scoring 48 points in two games for the Tigers. Flood-Francis finished the night 7-of-10 from the floor, 3-of-3 from three-point range, and 7-of-14 from the charity stripe. Sophomore Keishla Gilmore added 13 points for SIU on 5-of-10 shooting.

Rio Grande would score the first points of the game and never look back. The Red Storm out-scored SIU 27-12 in the first quarter and 28-13 in the second quarter. The three-point shot wouldn't be a feature for either team, especially for Rio Grande, who was a combined 6-for-20 in the contest. The Red Storm were dominant inside of the paint, scoring 58 of their 97 points from close range.

The second half would be more friendly for the Tigers as they scored 22 points in both the third and fourth quarter. The Red Storm would match the Tigers offensively, scoring 21 points in each of the last two quarters of play. SIU connected nine times from the floor in the third quarter after converting eight times in the first-half of action. The Tigers would work their way inside of the paint more in the fourth quarter, drawing some fouls from the Red Storm. SIU was 9-for-16 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and 19-for-37 in the contest.

Rio Grande went 36-for-72 from the floor and 19-for-26 at the free throw line in the game, while SIU went 23-for-59 from the floor and 4-for-10 at the charity stripe.

Senior Dorina Barrett finished 3-for-6 from the floor for eight points and recorded a team-high three steals for SIU, while junior Safiya Hernandez pulled-down a team-high eight rebounds.

Alexis Payne was one of six Rio Grande players to finish with double-digits in points, scoring 14. Sydney Holden scored 13 points for the Red Storm, while teammate Audra Clark added 11 points. Brooke Marcum, Chelsy Slone, and Jasmine Smith each scored 10 points in the win for Rio Grande.