Women's Basketball Opens Season Saturday Against DePaul
11/20/2002 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2002
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Series History
DePaul holds a 4-3 advantage over SIU, as the overall series between the two schools dates back to 1979. The Salukis last defeated the Blue Demons by a score of 88-58 in 1983, but since then, DePaul has taken the last three meetings, including a most recent 74-57 win in 2001.
Opp-eration MVC Tournament
One of the Salukis' main goals this season is to get back to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament which is something that hasn't been done under the guidance of head coach Lori Opp. In fact, the last time the Dawgs made a trip to the league's postseason fling was in 1999-00 under then-head coach Julie Beck. Not to mention, SIU hasn't posted a winning record since Cindy Scott's Salukis went 18-10 in 1995-96.
McDowell on the Prowl
Senior Molly McDowell will look to lead the Salukis in scoring for the second straight year. Averaging 12.6 points per game last season, McDowell enters the 2002-03 campaign needing 136 points to hit the 1,000-point plateau in her career. She currently stands with 864 points.
You Go JUCO!
Much of the preseason talk this year has been about the addition of junior college transfers Dana Pinkston, Alissa Jaehnke and Stephanie Brown. According to head coach Lori Opp, each of the three will be expected to contribute immediately.
Solid Schedule
In addition to an 18-game league slate, the Salukis will face teams from the Conference USA, Big Ten, SEC, Ohio Valley, Atlantic Sun, Sun Belt and Big West Conferences this season. SIU's non-league schedule features some tough competition as Long Beach State (16-13), DePaul (15-14), Belmont (19-9), Tennessee Tech (22-8) and Middle Tennessee State (16-13) each finished the 2001-02 campaign in the top half of their respective conferences.
Road Warriors
SIU will play just two non-league home games prior to its 2002-03 conference season. Following their matchup with Tennessee Tech on Nov. 30, the Salukis will hit the road for the entire month of December. During its lengthy stretch, SIU will visit Tennessee State (Dec. 4), Eastern Illinois (Dec. 7), Northwestern (Dec. 14) and Long Beach (Dec. 20-21) before returning home to open MVC play against SMS on Jan. 3.
Salukis Picked 10th in MVC Preseason Poll
Southern Illinois University's women's basketball team was picked 10th in this year's Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll released Oct. 29 at the league's annual media day in St. Louis, Mo. The Salukis, who finished last in the Valley at 6-21, 2-16 a year ago, received just 59 points. Creighton and Drake are the overwhelming favorites to head up the league's upper division this coming season, as the two were voted either first or second on 33 of the 40 ballots received. Creighton received 31 first-place tallies and 390 points, while Drake -- a Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament team last year -- received the remaining nine first-place votes and 361 points. The league's other postseason team from last year was SMS. The Lady Bears, under the guidance of new head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, are picked third in this year's preseason poll with 271 points. Rounding out the upper division are Wichita State, who received 256 points to finish fourth, and Northern Iowa who was picked fifth with 244 points. Heading up the predicted second division is sixth-place Bradley (216). Indiana State follows in seventh with 170 points, while the remaining three spots include Evansville (8th-135), Illinois State (9th-98) and SIU (10th-59).
Salukis Add Third Assistant Coach
SIU head coach Lori Opp announced on Oct. 7 that Staci Starkweather has been named assistant coach of the Saluki women's basketball program. A native of Pinckneyville, Ill., and graduate of SIU (1998), Starkweather enters her first collegiate coaching job with the Dawgs this season. Starkweather has 10 years of coaching experience, including two (1990-91, 1991-92) overseas in Salzburg, Austria. While in Salzburg, she also played one year for an Austrian travel team. Most recently, however, she worked under the direction of Head Coach Pat Summitt at the University of Tennessee women's basketball camp, and served as camp administrator for the women's basketball coach at the University of Illinois (2000-01). In addition, she holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education.
Point Blank
With the loss of Holly Teague, the team's leading scorer (12.1 ppg) a year ago, the Saluki backcourt will take on a new look this season as sophomore Chris Perry (Racine, Wis.) and junior college transfer Dana Pinkston (Junction, Ill.) will battle for the point guard spot. Pinkston will make her Saluki debut this season after completing a two-year stint at Southeastern Illinois College. An experienced point guard, Pinkston averaged 19.6 points per game this past season where she helped lead SIC to a 20-9 record. A two-time all-conference, all-region and all-tournament selection, she amassed over 1,000 points during her brief, two-year stay. Challenging Pinkston for playing time will be sophomore returnee Perry who saw limited action last season playing in a backup role to Teague.
Perimeter Power
Four returnees form the backbone of this year's perimeter, which features a cast of six talented athletes who can either play the two or three positions. Seniors Molly McDowell (Fillmore, Ill.), Hillary Phillips (McLeansboro, Ill.) and Megan Miller (Marshalltown, Iowa), along with sophomore Danette Jones (Salem, Ill.) make up the patented foursome who will look to take charge of the wing. Returning starters McDowell and Phillips, however, bring the most experience to the Saluki perimeter. McDowell, who vies to lead the team in scoring for the second straight year, averaged 12.6 points per game and became the school's career-leader in free throw percentage (.817) last season. Making 80 career starts, she needs just 136 points to reach the 1,000-point plateau in her career. Phillips, on the other hand, is known for her defensive ability, which led her to a team-high 28 blocks last season. While McDowell and Phillips are likely to resume their roles, Miller and Jones will also fight for starting duties. Miller played sparingly over 26 games last season, while Jones capped off a solid rookie year which saw her shoot a second-best 27 percent (14-of-52) from three-point range. Rounding out the outside arsenal are junior college transfer Stephanie Brown (Olathe, Kan.) and freshman Amy Hayden (Ft. Wayne, Ind.). Brown joins the Maroon and White from Butler County Community College where she averaged 10 points and eight rebounds for the Grizzlies, while Hayden comes to SIU from Snider High School where she earned all-state honors.
Post Picking
The Saluki frontcourt will consist of both new faces and people battling back from injuries which carried into the off-season. With that in mind, the lineup down low remains to be seen as it sports just one healthy returnee in junior Tiffany Crutcher (Bolingbrook, Ill.). Crutcher was one of the Salukis' most consistent post-players last season and she will be expected to make a big contribution again this year. Complementing Crutcher on the block will be juniors Jodi Heiden (Altamont, Ill.) and Katie Berwanger (Lake Zurich, Ill.). Heiden, despite nursing a hip injury, managed to start in 23 games and finished as the Salukis' fourth-leading scorer last season. Averaging 7.8 points per game, she also knocked down 59-of-69 from the free throw line for a team-leading .855 percentage. Meanwhile, Berwanger enters the 2002-03 campaign with two years of eligibility remaining after having received a medical hardship two years ago. Berwanger, who was expected to miss the entire year last season, battled back from a knee injury to play in 16 games where she averaged 3.6 points and 4.0 rebounds. Closing out the frontcourt are sophomore Wendy Goodman (Evansville, Ind.) and newcomers Alissa Jaehnke (Crystal Lake, Ill.) and Afton Gill (Carterville, Ill.). Goodman suffered a stress fracture in her left tibia which limited her to just 10 games a year ago. Jaehnke comes to SIU after averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds per game in each of her two seasons at McHenry County College. Local freshman Gill caps off the 2002-03 squad after concluding a solid prep career at nearby Carterville High School.
Salukis Take Advantage of Big First Half Run in 80-73 Win over St. Louis Goldstar
Tiffany Crutcher scored 18 points, while Jodi Heiden posted a double-double 12 points and 11 rebounds to lead Southern Illinois to a 80-73 exhibition win over St. Louis Goldstar on Nov. 10. Crutcher (7-of-12, .583) and Heiden (6-of-10, .600) each shot over 58 percent from the field to pace the Dawgs who jumped all over Goldstar early. Ahead by three (23-20) with 7:40 left to play in the first half, SIU used a 23-5 run to build its biggest lead of the game to 46-25. Crutcher scored seven of her 18 points to fuel the spurt which lasted 5:30. Despite being outscored 7-4 in the final 2:10 of the opening stanza, the Salukis remained in control with a comfortable 50-32 lead at the break. Goldstar, who led by as many as two points on just one occasion in the game, cut the Saluki lead to 68-65 thanks to a 14-3 run which saw Lynette Mund score seven points. Mund capped off the Goldstar surge with a three-pointer at the 6:45 mark. The three-point lead, however, quickly became nine when a three-pointer by Danette Jones and jumpers by Crutcher, Heiden and Hillary Phillips gave the Dawgs a 75-66 cushion with 4:29 on the clock. Another bucket by Heiden (1:50) and a three-pointer by Jones (1:18) in just 32 seconds then put Goldstar away for good, as SIU held on for the 80-73 win. In addition to Crutcher and Heiden, junior transfer Alissa Jaehnke also posted double figures in the scoring column with 10 points. Jaehnke hit on 5-of-10 field goals and pulled down four rebounds. SIU outmuscled Goldstar to an impressive 66-45 advantage on the glass which was dominated by Katie Berwanger (11), Heiden (11) and Molly McDowell (12) who accounted for over half of the Dawgs' boards.
Salukis Wrap Up Exhibition Play with 81-63 Win over Hungary
Southern Illinois University connected on a near-perfect 8-of-9 (.889) three-pointers en route to a 81-63 exhibition win over Hungary on Nov. 16 in Carbondale. Molly McDowell, who shot a perfect 3-of-3 from downtown and 4-of-4 from the free throw line, led all Saluki scorers with 21 points. McDowell, however, wasn't the only one knocking down threes as Dana Pinkston (3-of-3) and Danette Jones (2-of-3) each added two or more. SIU shot a blistering 59 percent (17-of-29) from the field to go along with a scorching 86 percent (6-of-7) from three-point land in the first half alone, as the Salukis built a 43-37 halftime lead. Up by 11 (62-51) with 9:31 left to play in the game, SIU used a 14-3 run to blow the game wide open. McDowell (4) and Katie Berwanger (5) led the charge as the duo accounted for nine of the 14 points that gave the Dawgs a commanding 76-54 advantage with 4:18 remaining. Hungary, who could only cut the SIU lead to 17 (80-63), did not recover from the late threat, as the Salukis went on to post the 81-63 win. In addition to her 7-of-12 field goals, McDowell grabbed five rebounds, dished out five assists and had two steals. Four others, including Berwanger (16), Pinkston (13), Tiffany Crutcher (11) and Jones (10) also posted double figures to round out the Dawgs' balanced attack. Berwanger hit 7-of-11 from the floor and 2-of-6 from the free throw line, while Pinkston pitched in 5-of-6 field goals to go along with a team-leading nine assists. Meanwhile, Crutcher (4-of-6) and Jones (4-of-7) netted four field goals apiece. SIU's solid 52 percent (30-of-58) from the field was partly due to the Saluki backcourt as guards McDowell, Pinkston and Hillary Phillips (1-of-2) combined for a 13-of-20 (.650) shooting display.
M*A*S*H Report
Freshman Afton Gill will miss the Salukis' season-opener against DePaul due to chronic recurring headaches.
Dawgs on the Web
Information regarding Southern Illinois University women's basketball can be accessed on the team's official website at www.siusalukis.com. Up-to-date game notes, press releases and statistics will be available each week.
Follow the Salukis Live on the Internet
All Southern Illinois University women's basketball home games this season can be followed live on the world wide web through SIU's internet gametracker. To activate the gametracker, go to the women's basketball page, click on schedule/results and hit the gametracker link for the game you want to follow.
Dawgs on the Radio
Southern Illinois University women's basketball games this season will once again be broadcasted live by Richard Blakely on WINI AM 1420.
Saluki Women's Basketball Ticket Prices
Season Prices (17% savings from last year): Season Adult $50.00; Season Faculty/Staff, Senior Citizen, Youth (High School and under) $40.00; Family Pack Season (2 Adult and 2 Youth) $100.00. Saluki Business Special: 100 tickets to a company, group in exchange for game recognition, via P.A. announcement, an ad in the basketball game program and the chance to be an Honorary coach at the game, $150.00. Individual Game Prices: Adult $4.00; Sr. Citizen, Youth, Faculty/Staff $3.00; Groups over 20 $1.00
MVC Scoreboard Phone
Once again this season, you can get the latest scores from around the Missouri Valley Conference by calling the Valley's scoreboard phone at (314) 997-9877. Scores and highlights from all league sports will be updated each night.
