Southern Illinois University
1-10, 0-2MVC
Creighton*
6-5, 2-0MVC
Women's Basketball Goes Cold in Loss to Creighton
01/05/2004 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2004
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill.-- Creighton (6-5, 2-0) used a 12-0 run late in the game to put the finishing touches on a 59-47 win over Southern Illinois (1-10, 0-2) earlier tonight in Missouri Valley Conference action at SIU Arena. The Salukis trailed by just three points before going scoreless for seven and a half of the game's final nine minutes.
CU, who won its third straight on the road, has posted 14 wins in its last 16 games against SIU. Meanwhile, SIU dropped to 0-4 at home this season.
Both teams were off to shaky starts in the first half, as each went the game's opening 3:10 without scoring a basket.
Once Daphney Desamours broke the drought and gave SIU a 2-0 lead, CU answered with a 19-4 run to quickly regain a 19-6 advantage with 8:24 left to play. Kristi Woodard heated up for the Bluejays scoring 11 points, including a pair of three-pointer during the spurt.
With a little over three minutes remaining in the first half, a Desamours jumper pulled the Dawgs to within three (23-20). Shortly after that, Stephanie Brown hit two free throws (2:28) and connected on a jumper (:58) to slice CU's lead to three on two other occasions.
CU, however, fought off the combination of Desamours (3) and Brown (4), who teamed up for SIU's last seven points of the first half, and regrouped for a 29-24 lead at the break.
After a Dayna Finch jumper gave CU a 37-27 lead early in the second half, SIU proceeded to cut the Bluejays' margin to three for the fourth time in the game. Unfortunately, the Dawgs couldn't bring the Jays' lead to anything less, as a dreadful cold spell followed.
Following a pair of Dana Pinkston free throws (43-40) at the 8:45 mark, CU used a 12-0 run to build a 55-40 lead with 2:40 remaining, as the Dawgs went without a basket for 7:37. SIU went 0-of-8 from the field during the drought, and by the time a Pinkston three-pointer made it 55-43 with 1:48, it was too late.
CU then calmly hit four free throws down the stretch to polish off its 59-47 win.
Woodard, who scored 17 points in the first half alone, shot 7-of-13 from the field, 2-of-3 from downtown and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line en route to a career-high 21 points.
SIU was led by Desamours and Brown who each scored 10 points. Katie Berwanger also grabbed 10 rebounds, marking the fifth time this season she has posted double figures in that category.
The Salukis shot just .294 (15-of-51) for the game, including a .233 (7-of-30) mark in the second half. In its last two home games, SIU has shot only 27.8 percent on 31-of-114 field goals.
The Salukis round out their three-game MVC homestand on Saturday, Jan. 10, when Evansville visits SIU Arena. Tip off is at 5:05 p.m., as the matchup will be aired live on MVC/Fox Sports Midwest television.
