Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Women's Basketball to Host Illinois State Saturday
02/13/2004 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2004
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois (3-17, 2-9) closes out its brief, two-game homestand when hit hosts Illinois State (13-8, 7-5) on Saturday. Tip off is at 2:05 p.m.
Although the visiting game has won at least one of the two games between SIU and ISU in each of the last two years, that streak came to an end when the Salukis suffered a 86-56 loss in Normal on Jan. 18.
SIU, who stands in last place in the MVC, is off to a 0-2 start in the second half of its conference season. Recently falling to Indiana State (98-84) Thursday, the Salukis head into Saturday's game led by senior guard Dana Pinkston's 10.9 points per game. Pinkston, who also scores 13.0 points per game against league opponents this season, has pitched in 12 or more points in each of her previous four outings.
Meanwhile, ISU is currently on a two-game winning streak and looks to strengthen its third-place standing among league contenders. The Redbirds sport a balanced scoring attack led by Katie Donovan's MVC-leading 21.6 points per game. Two others, including Jaci McCormack (11.1) and Taren O'Brien (10.2) also average double figures in the scoring column.
The Salukis are just 1-7 at home this season, and as a result, are searching for another win at SIU Arena. The Dawgs' only home win of the season came against Evansville (1/10), where they won by a score of 65-62 on MVC television. With three home games remaining, including Saturday's matchup against ISU, SIU has never finished a season with less than three wins at home.
