Women's Basketball Plays at Wisconsin Monday
11/21/2004 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2004
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
MADISON, Wis.- Southern Illinois (0-2) continues its five-day road trip Monday when it plays at the University of Wisconsin (1-0). Tip off is set for 7 p.m., at the Kohl Center.
ANOTHER BIG TEN OPPONENT
Wisconsin marks the second Big Ten Conference opponent SIU faces in four days. The Salukis visit Madison hoping to regroup from a pair of losses at the University of Iowa's KCRG-TV 9 Hawkeye Challenge. SIU lost to Iowa (66-50) on Nov. 19, and Northern Illinois (61-43) on Nov. 20.
SIU VS. THE BIG TEN
SIU is 35-43 all-time against schools from the Big Ten Conference. Holding a series-best 21 wins against in-state rival Illinois (21-11), the Salukis are also 3-10 against Indiana, 1-0 against Michigan, 3-2 against Michigan State, 0-2 against Minnesota, 1-9 against Northwestern, 0-2 against Ohio State, 4-4 against Purdue, 2-2 against Wisconsin and 0-1 against Iowa. Penn State is the only Big Ten school the Dawgs have never played.
ANYONE REMEMBER?
The last time SIU defeated a Big Ten opponent was in 1993-94 under former head coach Cindy Scott. The Salukis defeated Illinois, 69-65, as one of eight wins in their first 11 games that season. Since then, the Dawgs have gone 0-9 against Big Ten foes.
IT'S BEEN CLOSE SO FAR
SIU and Wisconsin played four times, and are tied, 4-4, in their overall series. Of those games, three have been decided by one or two points. Wisconsin took the first meeting, 66-64, in 1978. SIU then won two straight by scores of 70-69 (1992) and 81-79 (1993). The Badgers, however, were victors of the most recent matchup in 2000 (66-58). This year marks the second trip SIU makes to Madison. The Salukis also visited Badger Country in 1992, where they escaped with a one-point win.
IOWA CONNECTION
Saluki head coach Dana Eikenberg served as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa from 1997-00, and lost her inaugural game at the SIU helm to the Hawkeyes Friday. Meanwhile, Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone and SIU assistant Susan Koering played collegiate ball at Iowa. Stone was a four-year standout point guard who scored 1,129 points from 1980-84, while Koering, also a guard, was a two-time Big Ten Scholar-Athlete from 1993-97.
JONES NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT
Senior guard/forward Danette Jones averaged 15 points in two games en route to all-tournament honors at the KCRG-TV 9 Hawkeye Challenge this past weekend. A native of Salem, Ill., Jones opened the season with 22 points, including 15 which came from three-point land against Iowa. On the tournament, she scored 30 points, made five three-pointers, went a perfect 7-of-7 at the free throw line, grabbed six rebounds and dished out two assists.
DESAMOURS DOZEN
Senior point guard Daphney Desamours scored 12 points in each of her first two games of the season at the KCRG-TV 9 Hawkeye Challenge. Desamours, who hails from Miami, Fla., was the Dawgs' second-leading scorer against Iowa, before turning around to lead her team the next night against Northern Illinois. Desamours shot 10-of-28 from the field and 3-of-4 at the free throw line. Additionally, the 5-4 guard tied for the team lead in rebounds with six.
ON GUARD
Guards Daphney Desamours (5-4) and Elyse Morris (5-9) each stand under six feet, but are playing way bigger than that, especially on the boards. Desamours and Morris each have 12 rebounds on the year, which tie for second on the team. Those 24 boards nearly match the 25 pulled down by post players Wendy Goodman (15) and Bernettra Grayer (10).
EIGHT TO DATE
After playing its exhibition game against St. Louis Goldstar with only six players, SIU's active roster has since gone to eight. Although senior Lecretia Akines dislocated her left thumb and Amy Hayden strained a tendon in her shin, both played in each game at the Hawkeye Challenge after being cleared to go last week. Freshman Rachel Boldt, who did not make the five-day trip to Iowa and Wisconsin, suffered a stress fracture.
KEEPING UP WITH JONES
Danette Jones knocked down nine three-pointers over the weekend, including five against Iowa on Nov. 19. Those nine treys add to a total of 92 career three-point makes, as she surpassed both Dana Pinkston (86, 2002-04) and Meredith Jackson (91; 1996-99) for the school's fifth-place spot. SIU's career record in three-pointers made is held by Karrie Redeker who recorded 161 from 1988-92. Jones has drained 92-of-281 (.327) three-pointers in her Saluki career.
GOOD START
Senior forward Wendy Goodman, who only started in two games during her first three years at SIU, tied that mark after making a pair of starts at the Hawkeye Challenge. A native of Evansville, Ind., Goodman pulled down a team-leading 15 rebounds on the weekend, including 11 against Northern Illinois (11/20). Her 11 boards tied a career-high.
LOOKING FOR A "W"
SIU carries an 11-game losing streak into Madison Monday. The Salukis last won on the road at Bradley (78-75) on Jan. 31, 2004. Since then, the Dawgs have gone 0-11. The last time SIU dropped 11 games in a row was from Dec. 21, 2002 to Jan. 2, 2003.
COLD SHOOTING
SIU shot under 30 percent in the first half in both of its games this season. After shooting 6-of-26 (.231) against Iowa, the Salukis struggled to a 6-of-22 (.273) showing against Northern Illinois.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
While its opponents are shooting 50 percent (13-of-26) from three-point range, SIU is just 8-of-36 for a .222 clip. Of the Salukis' 36 attempts, 29 came against Iowa, as SIU set a Carver-Hawkeye Arena record in three-pointers attempted.
TURNOVERS, POINTS IN PAINT TELL STORY
Iowa used its patented high-low offense to score 36 points in the paint, which accounted for over half of its final 66 points. Against Northern Illinois, turnovers proved costly for the Salukis, as they committed 22. In turn, the Huskies converted those into 22 points.
FREE TIME
Despite its considerable amount of missed field goals, SIU found other ways to put points on the board against Northern Illinois. With under five minutes left to play in the first half, the Salukis made seven free throws in a span of 2:33 to narrow what was once a 27-point lead to seven points. SIU is shooting 15-of-21 for 71.4 percent from the charity stripe this season, which betters its opponents .581 mark.
LUCKY SEVEN
Danette Jones has made seven straight free throws in seven attempts to start the 2004-05 season. Those seven free tosses are part of SIU's total of 15 in two games thus far.
ROCK AND ROLL ROOKIE
Freshman post player India Bruster, who hails from Cleveland, Ohio, made her collegiate debut against Northern Illinois on Nov. 20. She scored five points, pulled down seven rebounds, gathered one block and had one steal in 19 minutes.
HEAD COACH LISA STONE
Former Drake University coach Lisa Stone is 11-17 in her second year as head coach at the University of Wisconsin. Prior to joining the Badgers, Stone led Drake to a 64-27 record and two NCAA Tournament appearances from 2000-03. Stone is 11th among the NCAA's winningest active Division I coaches with 386 wins in a little over 19 years.
SCOUTING THE BADGERS
Wisconsin opened its season with a 82-49 win over IUPUI in front of 5,600 fans at home. Guard Jolene Anderson recorded a double-double 20 points and 11 rebounds, while guard Janese Banks added 15 points and forward Jordan Wilson pitched in 14. The Badgers outscored IUPUI, 38-14, in the paint, and led by 30 (47-17) at the half.
TOUGH PLACE TO PLAY
Wisconsin led the Big Ten in cumulative attendance four years, and has ranked among the top 13 in the nation in attendance since 1995. Wisconsin is home to all of the Big Ten Conference attendance records setting a single-game conference mark of 17,142 in 2002. The Badgers established the all-time best average with 10,455/game in 1998.