Southern Illinois University
15-13, 10-7MVC
Indiana State University
11-17, 9-8MVC
Stifling defense leads Salukis to win over Sycamores
03/01/2018 | 9:53:00 | Women's Basketball
Indiana State's 28.1-percent from the field is the lowest SIU has held a MVC Opponent since 2011.
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Led by a stifling defense coupled with an opportunistic offense, the Southern Illinois women's basketball team completed the regular season sweep of the Indiana State Sycamores, 54-43, Thursday night inside SIU Arena.
The Salukis improved to 15-13 and 10-7 in Missouri Valley Conference play and have now won seven of their last eight against the Sycamores (11-17, 9-8 MVC). The two teams will meet again in eight days at the 2018 MVC Tournament in Moline, Ill., as Southern secured the No. 4 seed for the third-straight season, and the fourth time in program history, while Indiana State backs into the fifth seed with the loss.
"I thought we started flat but we had some good defensive plays that came around and helped us on the offensive end," fifth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "I felt like our kids did a good job offensively doing the things we want to do and our spacing was much better. There were times our defense looked awesome and times where it looked like we didn't know what we were doing. We were a lot better most of the time then not."
The defensive blanket the Salukis threw over the Sycamores was evident from the jump, as Indiana State shot 7% (1-of-13) from the field in the opening period and turned the ball over five times. Southern held a 12-5 lead at the end of the first quarter."Defense was an emphasis in practice this week," Kylie Giebelhausen said. "Defense and getting stops. As much as we focused on what (Indiana State) does offensively and defensively, the point of emphasis was having hands in the passing lanes, high hands on the ball, dancing around the post, boxing out and rebounding because they are a good offensive rebounding team."
The Sycamores showcased their abilities on the offensive glass in the second quarter, as they out-rebounded the Salukis, 13-to-5 in the frame which included six offensive rebounds. Indiana State cashed in its six offensive boards for seven second chance points and cut Southern's lead down to five, 26-21 at the half.
Indiana State, who enjoyed a 24-to-17 edge in rebounds during the first half, were out-rebounded 20-to-15 in the second half and held to just three offensive rebounds during the final 20 minutes of play.
"Coach Stein mentioned (during halftime) that we were giving up too many offensive rebounds," Makenzie Silvey said. "I think for most of the game we did a good job of boxing out, but they took some long shots that led to long rebounds and (the ball) kinda went over our head. In the second half we did a better job adjusting and grabbing those rebounds."
The Salukis also worked the ball inside to their posts more during the second half, as 20 of their 28 second half points were scored in the paint, a stark contrast to the first half in which only 10 of SIU's 26 points were scored in the paint.
"I felt like we were staring at our posts in the first half," Stein said. "Our posts are a huge part of our offense. We did a better job giving them the ball in the second and third quarters as opposed to the first. I felt like our ball movement and our screens were so much better and our posts were reading what the defense was giving them better."
Abby Brockmeyer finished with a team-high 13 points and seven rebounds, while Kylie Giebelhausen was 5-of-10 from the field for 12 points to go along with eight rebounds, four assists and a block. Nicole Martin also reached double figures for the Salukis, as she tallied 10 points, five boards, two assists and two steals in 25 minutes. Silvey chipped in eight points and tied a career-best with six rebounds.
Southern held Indiana State to 28.1% shooting from the floor, the lowest that SIU has held a Missouri Valley Conference opponent since Jan. 29, 2011 when the Salukis held the Sycamores to just 26.8% (15-of-56) shooting from the field. Southern also collected nine steals, with three Salukis, Martin, Silvey and Kristen Nelson each tallying two steals.
The Salukis will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday, March 3 when they host the Evansville Purple Aces. Southern will honor its lone senior, Kylie Giebelhausen, after the game, which tips off at 2 p.m.
