Women's Basketball Comes Back to Beat Goldstar, 77-69
11/07/2004 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 7, 2004
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Danette Jones and Daphney Desamours combined for all but 13 of Southern Illinois' second half points to help the Salukis overcome a 10-point deficit and beat St. Louis Goldstar, 77-69, earlier today in exhibition action at SIU Arena.
SIU, who trailed by eight (42-34) at the half, made 64 percent (14-of-22) of its field goals, and outscored Goldstar, 43-27, in the final 20 minutes of the game.
What's even more impressive is that the Dawgs did all this with only six players.
Jones and Desamours each scored 15 points in the second half after being held to under 10 in the opening stanza.
Down 52-44 with 14:39 left to play, Jones (6) and Desamours (9) teamed up for 15 points to fuel a 17-7 spurt that lasted 8:05. From then on, SIU never let up.
After Desamours knocked down a pair of free throws to pull the Salukis to within four (54-50) at the 11:10 mark, Jones buried a three-pointer to narrow the gap to 55-53 (10:47).
Moments later, Goldstar would lead by four on two other occasions, but Jones' go-ahead three-pointer with 6:34 remaining gave SIU a 61-59 advantage, its first lead since the 6:22 mark of the first half.
Prior to Jones' big shot, Desamours also did her part to rally the Dawgs by nailing a three-pointer of her own at the 8:00 mark.
Goldstar had no answer for SIU, who scored 16 more points down the stretch to cap off the 77-69 win.
Held to eight points on 3-of-10 from the field in the opening stanza, Jones regrouped to make a near-perfect 5-of-6 field goals, three of which were from downtown. She finished with a team-leading 23 points, dished out six assists, added two free throws and grabbed three rebounds.
"We did a good job of executing down the stretch," said Jones. "Personally, I felt like I came out hesitant in the first half, but was more confident and relaxed in the second."
Jones also had this to say about her team playing with six players.
"It only takes five to play," commented Jones. "Depth may be a concern down the road, but as long as we're in great shape, we can play well."
Meanwhile, Desamours bounced back with five field goals in nine attempts after being limited to six points on 3-of-11 from the floor in the first half. She, too, surpassed the 20-point mark with 21.
In addition to Jones and Desamours, Wendy Goodman pitched in double figures. Goodman, who came up with some key baskets underneath, had 14 points and eight rebounds. She shot 5-of-9 from the field and a flawless 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
Stretch James (22), Yen Quach (12) and Korena Sundell (11) each scored double-digits to pace Goldstar.
James (14) and Sundell (9) were key in building Goldstar's lead early on, as the two teamed up for 23 points to help their team to a .500 field goal percentage (15-of-30) in the first half.
On the boards, SIU collected a 44-37 edge.
For first-year head coach Dana Eikenberg, she was pleased with her team's effort.
"We focused on defensive transition and tempo control and I felt like we did that," Eikenberg said. "I'm happy, but we have a lot of work to do."
SIU opens its 2004-05 season with a visit to the KCRG TV-9 Hawkeye Challenge on Nov. 19-20. The Salukis open play against host Iowa at 5:30 p.m., Friday. Northern Illinois and Missouri will also be at the event.