Friday, February 23
Springfield, MO
7 PM
Southern Illinois University
14-32 (9-7MVC)
61
at
79
Missouri State University
17-10 (13-3MVC)
1
2
3
4
F
Southern Illinois
15
4
23
19
61
Missouri State
20
19
20
20
79
Photo by: Will Becque
Strong second quarter lifts Lady Bears to 79-61 win over Salukis
02/23/2018 | 10:24:00 | Women's Basketball
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Missouri State Lady Bears (17-10, 13-3 MVC) used a strong second-quarter to defeat the Southern Illinois Salukis, 79-61 Friday evening inside JQH Arena.
The Lady Bears clinched the No. 2 seed in the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament with the win.
The Salukis (14-13, 9-7 MVC) trailed by just five at the end of the first quarter but went ice cold from the floor in the second quarter, as they missed their first 14 shots of the period. Southern's offensive woes allowed Missouri State to build a comfortable 20-point advantage, 39-19, at the end of the first half.
"I felt like some of our offensive frustrations led to frustrations on the defensive end," fifth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "We became very undisciplined. We didn't score a couple of times down the floor and we made a careless error, either a hack or not boxing out so we let the frustrations on one end effect the other end and thats where we need to get better."
Alexa Willard did most of the heavy lifting in the second quarter for the Lady Bears, as she was 3-of-4 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe for 12 points in the frame and finished with 18 points and five rebounds.
The Salukis were led by Makenzie Silvey, who tallied 18 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists. It marked the 15th time this season that the Glen Carbon, Ill. native has reached double figures. Nicole Martin reached double figures for the 20th time this season, as she had 10 points and added eight rebounds.
The Lady Bears seemed to feed off their home crowd of 2,238 and attacked the Salukis down low from the jump, as nearly half (38-of-79) of Missouri State's 79 points came in the paint.
"I thought our kids fought and this is a tough place to play," Stein said. "Missouri State is good and you have to give them credit. I think were much better than what we are showing but that is what happens with a young team. We've got to keep them working hard and staying focused."
Southern, conversely, had difficulty getting the ball to its posts for most of the contest. SIU nearly had as many points in the paint in the fourth quarter (10) as it had in the previous three quarters combined (12). The Salukis also snagged a season-high 19 offensive rebounds but only scored 11 points off of second chance opportunities.
"We were just so anxious," Stein said of SIU's struggles finishing inside. "I'll use Tiajaney and Rachel as perfect examples. They were both working their tails off to get in there for rebounds, but they were too excited going up and missed easy shots. I absolutely loved their effort but that's just learning how to play at that kind of pace and in this kind of an environment."
SIU trailed by just five at the end of the first quarter, but the Lady Bears outscored the Salukis, 19-to-4, in the second quarter to build a 20-point lead. Southern cut the lead down to 13 on three-ball by Brittney Patrick with 6:54 to play in the third but could get no closer.
The Salukis return to action on Thursday, March 1 when they host the Indiana State Sycamores. Tip-off against the Sycamores is set for 6 p.m.
The Lady Bears clinched the No. 2 seed in the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament with the win.
The Salukis (14-13, 9-7 MVC) trailed by just five at the end of the first quarter but went ice cold from the floor in the second quarter, as they missed their first 14 shots of the period. Southern's offensive woes allowed Missouri State to build a comfortable 20-point advantage, 39-19, at the end of the first half.
"I felt like some of our offensive frustrations led to frustrations on the defensive end," fifth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "We became very undisciplined. We didn't score a couple of times down the floor and we made a careless error, either a hack or not boxing out so we let the frustrations on one end effect the other end and thats where we need to get better."
Alexa Willard did most of the heavy lifting in the second quarter for the Lady Bears, as she was 3-of-4 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe for 12 points in the frame and finished with 18 points and five rebounds.
The Salukis were led by Makenzie Silvey, who tallied 18 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists. It marked the 15th time this season that the Glen Carbon, Ill. native has reached double figures. Nicole Martin reached double figures for the 20th time this season, as she had 10 points and added eight rebounds.
The Lady Bears seemed to feed off their home crowd of 2,238 and attacked the Salukis down low from the jump, as nearly half (38-of-79) of Missouri State's 79 points came in the paint.
"I thought our kids fought and this is a tough place to play," Stein said. "Missouri State is good and you have to give them credit. I think were much better than what we are showing but that is what happens with a young team. We've got to keep them working hard and staying focused."
Southern, conversely, had difficulty getting the ball to its posts for most of the contest. SIU nearly had as many points in the paint in the fourth quarter (10) as it had in the previous three quarters combined (12). The Salukis also snagged a season-high 19 offensive rebounds but only scored 11 points off of second chance opportunities.
"We were just so anxious," Stein said of SIU's struggles finishing inside. "I'll use Tiajaney and Rachel as perfect examples. They were both working their tails off to get in there for rebounds, but they were too excited going up and missed easy shots. I absolutely loved their effort but that's just learning how to play at that kind of pace and in this kind of an environment."
SIU trailed by just five at the end of the first quarter, but the Lady Bears outscored the Salukis, 19-to-4, in the second quarter to build a 20-point lead. Southern cut the lead down to 13 on three-ball by Brittney Patrick with 6:54 to play in the third but could get no closer.
The Salukis return to action on Thursday, March 1 when they host the Indiana State Sycamores. Tip-off against the Sycamores is set for 6 p.m.
Team Stats
SIU
MSU
FG%
.313
.467
3FG%
.296
.091
FT%
.813
.786
RB
41
37
TO
16
8
STL
4
9
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
5
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
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