Southern Illinois University
2-2
Tennessee St
1-3
Women's Basketball Defeats Tennessee State, Wins Second Straight
12/04/2002 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2002
Nashville, Tenn. - Junior Tiffany Crutcher tied a career-high 18 points, including 16 in the second half to lead Southern Illinois (2-2) to a 72-62 win over Tennessee State (1-3) earlier tonight at the Gentry Center.
With the win, the Salukis moved to 2-0 all-time against the Tigers. The Dawgs also posted their first win on the road since Feb. 17, 2002.
"It was great to get a win on the road," said head coach Lori Opp. "It was an unusual day of preparation due to the weather, but the players came back focused and were able to close out to get the win."
TSU went five minutes without scoring as SIU took a 7-5 lead following a Hillary Phillips jumper with 16:10 remaining in the first half. Katie Berwanger then scored six straight points to fuel a 6-2 spurt that gave the Dawgs a 13-7 lead at the 12:55 mark.
A jumper by Tiffany Crutcher put SIU ahead by six (17-11) for the second time of the game with 8:04 left to play. Following a pair of Megan Miller free throws which made it 21-18 (4:23), in favor of the Dawgs, the Tigers then capitalized on two SIU turnovers and three missed shots to build a 6-0 run and take a 24-21 lead on a Tristin Johnson layup with 1:30 left.
Despite making three free throws in the last 1:06, the Salukis found themselves trailing 26-24 at the break.
SIU shot just 9-of-36 (.250) from the field, including 1-of-12 (08.3) from three-point range in what was a sloppy half for both teams. Meanwhile, TSU turned the ball over 13 times and missed six consecutive free throws en route to a 5-of-13 (.385) showing at the line.
All it took was one solid run for the Salukis to take control of the game. Down 34-30 at the 16:19 mark of the second half, precise free throw shooting by Pinkston and some key baskets off the bench by Stephanie Brown enabled SIU to build a 21-6 run.
During the rally, Pinkston pitched in four free throws, while Brown scored six straight to give the Salukis some breathing room at 51-40 with 9:23 to go.
Although Pinkston and Brown were hitting baskets when the Dawgs needed them most, Crutcher also came up big, and as a result, scored 16 second half points after being held to just two in the game's opening 20 minutes.
Thanks to Crutcher and company, the Salukis hung on for the 72-62 win, despite being outscored 22-21 in the final 9:23.
The game appeared to be won at the free throw line where SIU's 22-of-27 (.815) outweighed TSU's 13-of-32 (.406) mark. Two others, including Molly McDowell and Miller posted double figures in the scoring column to help pace the Salukis. McDowell shot 4-of-6 from the field to score 12 points, while Miller hit 6-of-6 from the free throw line en route to a career-high 10 points off the bench.
"I felt like our effort was great, but we just couldn't get shots to fall in the first half," said Opp. "In the second half, we took better shots within the framework of our offense and stayed more composed. We also picked it up on the defensive end, playing better team defense."
SIU, who also won the game despite being out-rebounded 53-50, will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 7, when it plays at Eastern Illinois (7:10 p.m.).
