Southern Illinois University
1-5
Saint Louis
1-5
Women's Basketball Beats Saint Louis, 69-53
12/07/2004 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 7, 2004
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Junior Amy Hayden scored a career-high 18 points and Southern Illinois (1-5) forced 23 turnovers in a 69-53 win over Saint Louis (1-5) earlier tonight at SIU Arena. The win marked Dana Eikenberg's first as the Salukis' head coach.
The win was SIU's third straight over SLU, and it dropped the Billikens to a winless 0-3 against Missouri Valley Conference opponents this season.
With as hard as the Salukis have been playing lately, you couldn't help but sense that tonight was going to belong to the Dawgs.
"With the way we've been practicing, I think our players believed they could win," said Eikenberg. "They deserve all the credit."
SIU went up against a SLU squad that is dominated by 12 underclassmen, including six freshmen. And, to say the least, the Salukis took full advantage of the Billikens' inexperience from the opening tip.
SLU took a 2-0 edge on a jumper by Brittany Artis nearly two minutes into the game, but after that, the Billikens never led again.
To their credit, the Billikens hung tight with SIU until the 7:09 mark of the first half, where they trailed, 20-18, following a pair of free throws by Mia Johnson.
But, moments later, the Saluki charge clicked into full gear.
A jumper by Hayden, which accounted for two of her 11 points in the game's opening 20 minutes, fueled an 8-2 run to build a 28-20 advantage for the Dawgs. A Lecretia Akines jumper ended the rally with 4:02 left.
After SLU pulled to within seven (33-26) on another Johnson free throw, SIU ended the half with a 5-0 run to take a 38-26 lead into the locker room, its first halftime lead of the season.
Hayden, who scored seven of the Salukis' first 13 points of the game, shot a near-perfect 5-of-6 from the field en route to her double-digit half.
While Hayden was on fire in the first half, it was Danette Jones who heated up in the second.
Jones scored SIU's first seven points of the second half, to give the Salukis a comfortable, 45-28 lead with just under 17 minutes remaining. Those seven points surpassed her total of four in the opening stanza.
SIU continued pound the Billikens, and as a result, took its biggest lead of the game when a pair of Hayden free throws put the Dawgs ahead by 22 points (61-39) with 5:49 left.
From then on, SLU couldn't narrow the hefty margin to anything less than 16, as the Salukis cruised to the 69-53 win.
As mentioned, SIU's defense smothered SLU into forcing 23 turnovers, which marked the most by an opponent the Salukis have faced this season.
The Billikens also shot a dismal 35 percent (21-of-60) from the field, including a 33.3 (11-of-33) clip in the second half.
Meanwhile, SIU shot nearly 50 percent (46.7) on 14-of-30 field goals in the first half, despite its .393 (24-of-61) mark on the night.
Hayden finished at 6-of-11 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line to lead all Saluki scorers, as her 18 points surpassed her previous career-high of 14 which came vs. Southwest Missouri State on Jan. 24, 2004.
Jones followed with 15 points, including 11 in the second half alone, while Daphney Desamours also posted double figures in the scoring column with 13. Desamours has scored double-digits in every game this season.
Additionally, all but one of the eight Salukis scored in SIU's balanced offensive attack.
SLU topped SIU, 44-43, on the glass, but Saluki freshman India Bruster had a huge night underneath, as she hauled down a season-high 11 boards.
Johnson and Marquita McFarland each collected double-doubles to pace SLU. Johnson had 20 points and 12 rebounds, while McFarland ended up with 13 points and 10 boards.
SIU ends its non-conference season with three games on the road, beginning on Saturday, Dec. 11, when the Salukis visit Southern Mississippi.
