Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Women's Basketball Heads to Northern Iowa
01/22/2002 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 22, 2002
Carbondale, Ill. - Southern Illinois (4-12, 0-7) will begin a tough three-game road trip Thursday night at Northern Iowa (10-8, 5-2) where the Panthers are a perfect 3-0 on the season. Tip off is set for 7:05 p.m.
SIU continues to be mired in a nine-game losing streak as the Salukis haven't won a game in over six weeks. After suffering back-to-back heartbreaking losses to Indiana State (71-65) and Illinois State (69-67), the Dawgs' nine-game skid now stands as the longest in Saluki women's basketball history.
The Salukis head into Thursday's matchup still searching for their first league win of the 2001-02 campaign. Despite being led by Molly McDowell's 13.3 points per game, sophomore Jodi Heiden has been a force over the Salukis' last couple games.
In 72 minutes played last week, Heiden shot 13-of-21 (.619) from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line en route to a combined 30 points. In addition, her 14 points, 10 rebounds against Illinois State (1/20) marked her team leading fourth double-double of the season.
Northern Iowa ranks third in the Valley and is riding high on its most recent 81-66 upset at Drake last Saturday. The Panthers are led by sophomore forward Amy Swisher who is averaging 14.7 points per game. Senior center Abbi Schutte then follows with 11.6 points to go along with 6.8 rebounds as UNI is perfect at home this year.
Despite losing its last eight games over the Panthers, SIU leads the overall series with UNI, 26-10. SIU, however, hasn't defeated Northern Iowa since Feb. 27, 1997 (84-75).
Pre-Game Notes: SIU is down to 10 healthy bodies as the Salukis will be without the services of Danielle Lawary and Wendy Goodman. Goodman may be out for four weeks after suffering a stress fracture in her left tibia, while Lawary could miss up to two weeks due to a stress fracture in her right foot, Junior transfer Hillary Phillips is coming off a season-high 11-point performance against Illinois State (1/20) which marked the first time this season the native of McLeansboro, Ill., has hit double figures.
