Women's Basketball Plays Bethune-Cookman Saturday
12/17/2004 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 17, 2004
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois (1-6) closes out the non-conference portion of its schedule with two games in Florida beginning Saturday, when the Salukis visit Bethune-Cookman (2-4). Tip off is at 1 p.m., CST.
SERIES HISTORY
SIU and Bethune-Cookman play each other for the first time Saturday in Daytona Beach. Following tomorrow's contest, the Salukis head to Stetson on Dec. 21, where they meet the Hatters for the first time as well.
LAST TIME OUT
SIU suffered a 55-48 loss at Southern Mississippi on Dec. 11. The Salukis hurt themselves most at the free throw line, where they shot a mere 22.2 percent (2-of-9). Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles were making their free tosses, and as a result, ended up shoooting 61.5 percent with eight makes in 13 attempts.
COMING SOON
When SIU returns from wrapping up its non-league slate in the Sunshine State, the Salukis will open Missouri Valley Conference action at home against Creighton (Dec. 31) and Drake (Jan. 2). The 2004 WNIT Champion Bluejays were picked to finish second in this year's preseason poll, while the Bulldogs were tabbed fourth.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Bethune-Cookman College, members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, has an enrollment of 2,500, and is located in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The Wildcats are 2-4 overall, and have won two of their last three games. Coming off a recent 71-59 win over Alabama A & M (Dec. 14), BCC looks to pick up its second win in a row against the Dawgs.
Sophomore guard Jessica Stephens tops the Wildcats with an average of 16 points a game. Stephens also ranks 24th in the nation with 2.8 three-pointers per contest. She is shooting 16-of-37 from behind the arc this season.
Junior guard Katie Clark follows with a 14.7 points per game average.
The Wildcats are attempting nearly 20 (19.5) free throws per game, and are shooting 80.3 percent (94-of-117) on the year.
HAYDEN MAKES NOISE
After scoring a combined six points in her first four games of the season, Amy Hayden has come alive to pitch in double-digits for three consecutive games. Starting with 10 points in 29 minutes off the bench against SE Missouri State (12/1), the native of Ft. Wayne, Ind., has since scored a career-high 18 points vs. Saint Louis (12/7) and 15 points at Southern Mississippi (12/11). Hayden shot 44 percent (14-of-32) in her last three games, and now ranks third on the team in scoring after boosting her average from 5.7 to seven points per game.
DESAMOURS DOES IT AGAIN
Senior point guard Daphney Desamours, who missed her first start of the season at Southern Mississippi (12/11), came off the bench to score 13 points, her seventh straight game in double figures. The native of Miami, Fla., who was held from the starting lineup for disciplinary reasons, regrouped to shoot 6-of-12 from the field. She also pulled down eight rebounds, dished out five assists and had three steals. Standing at 5-4, Desamours is both the Salukis' second-leading scorer (13.1 ppg) and rebounder (6.4 ppg) after seven games this season.
APPROACH THE BENCH
Thanks largely in part to Daphney Desamours, SIU's bench of three outscored Southern Mississippi's by a count of 19-11. Desamours (6), along with sophomore Bernettra Grayer (2) and freshman India Bruster (2), joined forces for a 10-0 difference off the pine in the first half.
IMPROVING DAWGS
SIU turned the ball over a season-low 15 times, including seven in the second half against Saint Louis on Dec. 7.
NICE CONTRIBUTION
Of SIU's eight players, all but one scored at least five points in a balanced effort against Saint Louis. Amy Hayden led the charge with 18 points, while Danette Jones had 15 and Daphney Desamours added 13. Wendy Goodman (6), Elyse Morris (5), Lecretia Akines (7) and India Bruster (5) also contributed.
DYNAMIC DUO
Seniors Danette Jones (106) and Desamours (92) have combined for 198 of SIU's 374 points this season, which accounts for 53 percent of the team's overall point production. Jones tops all scorers with 15.1 points per game and Desamours follows with 13.1. Not to mention, Jones has scored double figures in five of seven games, while Desamours has yet to go a game this season without scoring double-digits.
NEXT UP FOR THE DAWGS
SIU concludes non-conference play at Stetson on Tuesday, Dec. 21. Tip off is at 6 p.m., CST.