SALEM, WV - The Salem International University women's basketball team tied a season-high with 12-made three's against Rio Grande (Ohio), but the Red Storm's 32 points at the free-throw line would seal the deal down the stretch. Rio Grande out-scored the Tigers 36-30 en route to a 106-91 victory on Wednesday night (Feb. 1) in NCAA Division II Basketball action.

The 91-point performance for SIU is the most since the Tigers knocked off the Red Storm last season in Salem on December 11, 2015 (89-88) in the opening-game of the Joe Manchin Classic.

Sophomore Keishla Gilmore scored a season-high 32 points on 11-of-12 shooting, while adding seven assists, two steals, and eight points at the charity stripe. Sophomore Jiahna Flood-Francis added 13 points and three steals for the Tigers.

Rio Grande was paced by Sydney Holden (11 points) and Sharday Baines (10 points) in the opening-half of action. Holden provided a spark for the Red Storm offense, coming off of the bench and draining a trio of treys in seven minutes of action. Baines connected on the other two three's for Rio Grande, who went 5-of-10 from downtown in the half.

Flood-Francis recorded eight points for SIU in the opening stanza, while Gilmore added seven points and three helpers for the Tigers. SIU struggled in the half as a team from downtown, shooting 3-of-13. The Red Storm held a 19-9 advantage on the glass in the half but couldn't turn it into points, tallying only three second-chance points to the Tigers' nine.

Rio Grande's 51-35 lead at the end of the first-half came on the strength of shooting 18-of-34 from the floor and going 10-of-11 at the free-throw line. SIU shot 14-of-39 from the floor and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line.

The second-half would be controlled by Gilmore, who put the Tigers' offense on her back. Gilmore went 8-of-14 from the floor in the half and 7-of-9 at the charity stripe. She accompanied her 25-point performance in the half with four assists, one block, and one steal.

SIU looked to seize all momentum from Rio Grande with 5:46 remaining in the third quarter, going on a 10-2 run to trim the deficit to 64-50 after a three from junior Safiya Hernandez. The Tigers would drain back-to-back-to-back treys, sending the home crowd into a frenzy and cutting Rio Grande's lead to just seven points (66-59) with 56 seconds left in the quarter.

A late foul would give the Red Storm two chances to increase their lead heading into the fourth quarter. Kamryn Conaway connected on both of her shots from the line with 10 ticks remaining to give Rio Grande a 70-61 lead with one quarter left to play.

The final 10-minutes of action were action-packed for those in attendance as the Red Storm saw the Tigers come to within three points of knotting the contest with just over eight minutes to-go in the fourth quarter. After junior Christy Gonzalez went 1-of-2 at the free-throw line the Tigers found themselves trailing 72-69, but an ensuing 8-0 run by the Red Storm would up their lead to 80-69.

Both teams received numerous chances down the stretch at the free-throw line with Rio Grande putting things away by going 22-of-25 at the line in the half. With the sound of the final buzzer, the Red Storm secured their third win of the season against SIU, 106-91. SIU finished the game 32-of-78 from the floor, 12-of-30 from downtown, and 15-of-23 at the charity stripe, while Rio Grande went 34-of-69 from the floor, 6-of-12 from downtown, and 32-of-36 at the free-throw line.

Hernandez finished with 15 points for SIU, going 5-of-7 from three-point range and adding five rebounds. Senior Franchessca Gill tallied 10 points for the Tigers, shooting 50 percent from the floor (4-of-8).