RIO GRANDE, OH - Sophomore Keishla Gilmore's game-high 21 points and team-high seven assists wouldn't be enough for Salem International University on Wednesday night (Jan. 4) against Rio Grande. The Red Storm erased a 42-41 first-half deficit by out-scoring the Tigers 27-9 in the third quarter en route to a 83-67 victory on their home court.

The Tigers return home to T. Edward Davis Gym to host in-state rival Alderson Broaddus University at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 5. SIU will have a week layoff until its next contest, when it welcomes in Central State University to the TED for the second-time this season.

Gilmore finished the contest 6-of-16 from the floor and 9-of-15 from the free throw line. She would also add five rebounds and four steals to her stat line. Freshman Quamilla Jackson went 5-of-9 from the floor to record 11 points for the Tigers.

After seeing six players score in double-figures in the first-meeting between the two teams, the Red Storm would see five players record double-digit scoring performances against SIU. Jadia Carter scored a team-high 19 points (8-of-11) to pace Rio Grande.

The first quarter would be owned by Rio Grande as the Red Storm out-dueled the Tigers 26-17 in a fast-paced opening 10 minutes of action.

The Red Storm would lead by as many as 13 points (26-13), following a two-point bucket in the paint from Jasmine Smith.

SIU scored the final four points of the quarter after buckets from Jackson and junior Jessica Woney to cut the deficit to 26-17.

With momentum on their side, the Tigers looked to cut even deeper into the Red Storm lead but would see the gap stretch to 17 points (36-19) after Kamryn Conaway connected from inside of the paint.

A 14-0 run by the Tigers trimmed the Rio Grande lead to just three points (36-33) with 4:14 left in the second quarter. Sophomore Jiahna Flood-Francis hit a key three-pointer with 2:15 remaining to tie the contest 38-38. Gilmore earned a pair of free throws with 12 ticks left in the quarter and would drain both of her shots to give the Tigers a 42-41 lead at the end of the first-half.

Gilmore continued to lead the charge for SIU in the third quarter, hitting a pair of shots at the charity stripe to up the Tigers lead to 44-41.

That would be the final-time that the Tigers would lead in the contest as Rio Grande used a 19-0 run to take a 60-44 lead with 4:04 remaining in the third quarter. SIU went 5:55 in-between buckets as Gilmore ended the run with a layup for the Tigers with 3:45 left to play.

Rio Grande's lead stretched to 22 with 1:05 left in the quarter as a two-pointer from Conaway made it 68-46. The Red Storm would take a 68-51 lead into the fourth quarter.

The closest that SIU would get to Rio Grande in the fourth quarter would be 13 points (72-59) as junior Safiya Hernandez drained a three-pointer with 6:35 remaining in the contest.

Senior Franchessca Gill beat the buzzer for SIU, with her three-point attempt coming in the final second of the contest to cut the final gap to 83-67 in favor of Rio Grande.

Flood-Francis finished with nine points and two blocks for SIU, while Gill tallied eight points in 13 minutes of action.

Alexis Payne finished with 16 points for the Red Storm, while teammate Sharday Baines recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 assists. Baines also notched a team-high five steals.

The Tigers shot 44.4 percent from the floor (24-of-54), 29.2 percent from downtown (7-of-24), and 57.1 percent from the free throw line (12-of-21). The Red Storm shot 56.7 percent (34-of-60) from the floor, 42.9 percent (6-of-14) from downtown, and 69.2 percent (9-of-13) at the charity stripe. Rio Grande out-rebounded SIU 32-29 and scored 54 points in the paint, while the Tigers scored 28.