Southern Illinois University
Se Missouri St
Women's Basketball Falls To Southeast Missouri State 81-70
11/24/2001 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
November 24, 2001
By Patrick Clark
Media Services Student Assistant
The Salukis 11 game winning streak against regional rival Southeast Missouri State ended with a 81-70 loss in a non-conference road game at the Show Me Center.
The Otahkians (3-1) forced the Salukis to commit four turnovers in its first six possessions, holding them scoreless for the first 3:53. A Geshla Woodard jumper got the Salukis on the board and then tied the game at four on a coast-to-coast layup by junior Molly McDowell.
That score would be the closest margin the Salukis would get the rest of the game, as the Otahkians went on a 40-16 run to end the first half as every Saluki basket was answered by an Otahkian run.
A Kristy Roherty three at the buzzer gave the Otahkians a 44-20 first half lead going into the locker room.
SIU shot only 24.2% to SEMO's 48.4% in the first half and the Salukis committed 13 first half turnovers. Senior captain Holly Teague had nine first half points, all from behind the arc. All-Ohio Valley Conference forward Lori Chase led the Otahkians with 15 first half points.
The second half started with both teams exchanging baskets for the first 6:12. After a SEMO timeout, Saluki head coach Lori Opp greeted the Otahkians with a fullcourt press, which forced four straight turnovers. This led to a 8-0 Saluki run to cut the lead to 15.
SEMO continued to struggle against SIU's defensive pressure, forcing turnovers and bad shots as SIU chipped away at the lead. McDowell hit a long three to cut the lead to 6 with 1:02 to go.
After being fouled, SEMO's Lashelle Porter missed the back-end of her free throw attempts. Jodi Heiden grabbed the rebound and passed it to Teague, who took the ball coast-to-coast for a lay-up and a foul. Cutting the lead to five, 75-70 with :32 seconds remaining. Teague missed the free throw and SEMO grabbed the board and draw the foul.
That would be all for Salukis, as SEMO converted on six free throws to seal the win 81-70.
Teague set a career high in points for the second straight game, scoring 22 on 9-18 shooting (4-7 from three point). She also added a game high 5 assists. McDowell played all 40 minutes and added 16 points. Heiden chipped in with 11 points and a game high 9 boards.
SEMO had three players in double figures in scoring. Chase led the way with a game high 24 points.
The Salukis shot 36.2%, while SEMO shot a blistering 52.9% in the game. The Salukis forced 22 SEMO turnovers, 18 in the second half, while only committing 8 themselves.
The SEMO game is the first of five straight games that they will play against OVC schools. The team will resume action with a road game against Tennessee-Martin on Thursday, November 29.
GAME NOTES: The Salukis are an impressive 101-26 all-time against OVC schools...SIU still holds a 23-3 advantage in the overall series against SEMO despite the most recent loss. The last meeting was a 68-55 victory in 1982...SIU did not attempt a free throw during the first half, while SEMO shot 12, making 11 of them (91.7%). SIU went to the line 15 times in the second half making 11 (73.3%), however SEMO matched them by making 11 out of 15 of their own free throws in the second half and finished 22-27 (81.5%).
