Southern Illinois University
2-6
Bethune Cookman
2-5
Women's Basketball Downs Bethune-Cookman, 69-64
12/18/2004 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2004
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Danette Jones tied the school's all-time single-game record with seven three-pointers and scored a season-high 28 points to lead Southern Illinois (2-6) to a 69-64 win over Bethune-Cookman (2-5) earlier today at Moore Gymnasium.
A senior from Salem, Ill., Jones finished the afternoon shooting 7-of-16 from three-point range after not making any in her previous outing at Southern Mississippi (12/11).
Her seven bombs tied Karrie Redeker, who knocked down the same number of threes against Northern Iowa on Feb. 6, 1992.
" It's nice to tie the school record, but ultimately, I wanted our team to win, and we did that today," said Jones. "I'm extremely happy we won."
Needless to say, Jones had a field day against BCC's two-three zone in the first half.
Although her team fell behind by seven (12-5) nearly five minutes into the game, Jones virtually couldn't miss from long range. As a result, she drained six three-pointers en route to scoring all but 11 of the Salukis' points in the first half.
Shortly after Sabrina Boykin's jumper gave the Wildcats their seven-point cushion, Jones exploded for five treys - four in a 5:30 span - to fuel a 21-6 run that put the Salukis ahead, 26-18, with 6:31 remaining.
BCC would then narrow SIU's lead to one (28-27) on a Sarah Johnson jumper with eight seconds left, but Daphney Desamours banked in a shot at the buzzer just past the mid-court stripe to send SIU into the locker room with a 31-27 advantage.
Desamours, still excited from her mid-court heave, came out scoring four straight points to open the second half.
Then, all of the sudden, the half was taken over by whistles.
After only seven fouls were committed between the two teams in the first half, SIU and BCC were whistled for a total of 30 fouls in the second.
Due to the considerable number of fouls, both teams went to the free throw line often, and for SIU, its trips were helping.
The Salukis shot just two free throws in the opening stanza, but made 13-of-22 attempts in the second, including 9-of-13 from Desamours.
Meanwhile, BCC shot 10-of-13 after going 2-of-2 at the charity stripe in the first half.
With that being said, Desamours made four straight free throws to up SIU's lead to 56-42 (8:40), marking its largest of the game.
"Desamours did a great job getting to the free throw line," said head coach Dana Eikenberg. "We were there 24 times and that's a sign of us being aggressive."
BCC, however, answered with a 18-6 surge to pull to within two when Johnson's three-point play cut SIU's lead to 62-60 (2:08).
Even though the Wildcats gave the Salukis a scare, they fought off the attack with some key baskets at the end.
For instance, shortly after Johnson's free throw, a Desamours bucket put SIU ahead, 64-60 (1:43). An offensive rebound and layup by India Bruster followed on the Dawgs' next possession, and gave SIU a 66-60 lead with 37 seconds remaining. From then on, BCC couldn't recover.
"We thought a win would equal playing smart," Eikenberg said. "We've really been emphasizing in practice to move without the ball. We kept moving and coming back to the basketball, and those are things that help secure possessions."
Jones shot 9-of-20 from the field and 3-of-4 at the free throw line on the day. She also dished out one assist and grabbed two rebounds in 40 minutes.
"I'm glad Danette was hot today," said Eikenberg. "She's a great shooter, and they (BCC) obviously didn't know who she was in the beginning of the game which resulted in them switching to man-to-man defense in the second half.
As for Desamours, she tied a career-high with 22 points, including 17 in the second half. Nine of those points came at the free throw line, as her double-digit outing marked her eighth straight this season.
As a team, the Salukis shot a blazing season-best 53.5 percent (23-of-43), including a 52.4 (11-of-21) showing in the first half and a 54.5 (12-of-22) effort in the second.
Johnson led the Wildcats with 15 points and seven rebounds.
BCC also shot well, as it connected on 24-of-53 field goals for 45.3 percent.
SIU rounds out its non-conference schedule at Stetson on Tuesday, Dec. 21. Tip off is at 6 p.m., CST.
