Southern Illinois University
1-9, 0-1MVC
Drake*
4-6, 1-0MVC
Women's Basketball Loses MVC Opener To Drake, 69-42
01/03/2004 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 3, 2004
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Twelve of 15 Bulldogs scored at least one point to lift Drake (4-6, 1-0) to an easy 69-42 win over Southern Illinois (1-9, 0-1) earlier today in both teams' Missouri Valley Conference opener. Linda Sayavongchanh scored 17 points to pace the balanced attack, as the Bulldogs posted their eighth consecutive win at SIU Arena.
The win also marked Drake's 16th straight over SIU, who has now lost five consecutive games to the Bulldogs by a margin of 27.8 points.
SIU was held to 16 points in the first half, as it made only two field goals in the game's opening 11:30. While the Salukis were ice cold from the field, Drake built a 29-11 lead at the 3:53 mark and never looked back.
Sayavongchanh scored 10 points on 3-of-4 field goals, including 2-of-3 from downtown to lead the Bulldogs to a 31-16 lead at the break.
The Salukis shot just 6-of-32 for a frustrating 19 percent from the field in the first half.
Meanwhile, Drake hit 50 percent (12-of-24) of its field goal attempts.
A Dana Pinkston three-pointer (18:45) and a Tiffany Crutcher jumper (18:15) pulled SIU to within 12 on two occasions in the first 1:45 of the second half, but that was as close as the Salukis would get.
From that point on, Drake continued to pound away at SIU, and used a 13-3 run in a span of 5:25 to take a 67-37 lead with 2:13 left to play. Kris Meggers (2), Allison Burchill (2), Jill Martin (1), Cydney Franklin (2) and Beth Marvin (1) combined for eight free throws during the stretch.
Two more free throws, this time by Mandy Kappel, gave Drake another 30-point lead (69-39) at the 1:25 mark, before the Bulldogs sealed the 69-42 romp.
For the second straight game at home, Saluki starters have had a hard time finding the basket. Against Northwestern (12/20), four of SIU's starting five joined forces for a 3-of-21 (.143) effort from the field. This time, starters Danette Jones (0-2), Katie Berwanger (2-of-8), Crutcher (3-of-8), Amy Hayden (0-of-9) and Pinkston (4-of-13) combined for a mere 9-of-40 (.225).
Due to its shooting woes, SIU hit just 16-fo-63 from the floor for a .254 percentage, while Drake ended with a .511 (24-of-47) mark. The Bulldogs also hit 16-of-21 (.762) free throws to the Salukis' 6-of-10 (.600).
Sayavongchanh shot 6-of-9 from the field, 3-of-5 from behind the three-point arc and 4-of-4 from the free throw line en route to her 17-point display. She also dished out four assists, gathered three blocks and had four steals in 23 minutes.
Pinkston led SIU with 13 points on 4-of-13 field goals, including 3-of-7 from downtown. Her double-digit outing marked her second straight.
Today's game marked SIU's sixth in 10 games this season, where the Salukis have trailed by at least 10 points at the half, and never recovered. On the year, the Dawgs have been outscored in all but one half of basketball.
SIU remains home to host Creighton on Monday, Jan. 5. Tip off is at 7:05 p.m.
