Southern Illinois University
St. Louis Goldstar (Exhibition)
Women's Basketball Edges Goldstar, 64-62
11/09/2003 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 9, 2003
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill.-- Junior transfer Daphney Desamours scored four points in the last 58 seconds of the game to lift Southern Illinois University to a 64-62 come-from-behind win over St. Louis Goldstar earlier today in exhibition action at SIU Arena.
Trailing by three (62-59) with 1:18 left to play, Desamours calmly sunk a three-pointer to tie the game at 62-62 with 58 seconds remaining. Stephanie Brown found Desamours wide open at the top of the key, who pump-faked and drained the clutch shot.
"I was open and felt like I had to take the shot," said Desamours. "I was tired, but I wanted the ball. My defender looked confused so I took advantage of it."
Despite Desamours' trey, Goldstar, had its chances down the stretch, but came up empty when Lynette Mund and Yen Quach each missed jumpers in the last 42 seconds. Goldstar was then forced to foul, and as a result, both Katie Berwanger and Desamours hit one free throw apiece to ice the 64-62 win.
Prior to the dramatic ending, SIU led by as many as 11 points (25-14) at the 7:47 mark of the first half, but Goldstar went on a 22-2 run to regain a 36-27 lead at the break. Former SMS standout Quach scored nine points to ignite the spurt, which saw the Salukis commit seven turnovers.
"We tried to force the ball inside and made some bad decisions offensively," said head coach Lori Opp. "That's how they made their run on us. After their run, we just kept telling our players to be smart and be patient, things will open up. Once that happened, we were able to execute more."
After a Berwanger free throw pulled SIU to within seven (40-33) just 4:15 into the second half, the Dawgs converted on four of their next six possessions to tie the game at 40-40. Tiffany Crutcher scored four points and Berwanger added three to pace the attack which ended on a Amy Hayden jumper (13:31).
Both teams would then exchange baskets for the rest of the game, before Desamours' rally secured the win.
Crutcher led all Saluki scorers with 14 points on 4-of-6 field goals and 6-of-8 free throws.
Berwanger followed with a double-double 12 points and 15 rebounds. The native of Lake Zurich, Ill., also posted six steals, including a crucial pick of Nicole Lindsey's desperation, half-court pass with two seconds left.
"We have a lot of things we need to improve on, but that's what exhibition games are for," said Berwanger. "We had a lot of jitters at the beginning of the game and we tried to play several people at different positions."
Lindsey paced Goldstar with 19 points and seven rebounds. Mund (14) and Quach (12) also scored double figures.
The Dawgs out-muscled Goldstar on the boards, 44-33, including a 22-10 effort on the offensive end. Goldstar, on the other hand, shot 43 percent (23-of-54) from the field to outweigh SIU's .349 (22-of-63) percentage.
SIU will play one more exhibition game on Friday, Nov. 14 against NWBL USA Elite. Tip off is set for 7:05 p.m., at SIU Arena.
