Southern Illinois University
3-21, 2-13MVC
Bradley*
7-17, 5-10MVC
Women's Basketball Drops Sixth Straight
02/25/2004 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2004
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois (3-21, 2-13) committed 27 turnovers, including 11 in the first 10:17 of the game in a 86-51 loss to Bradley (7-17, 5-10) earlier tonight at SIU Arena.
The loss marked SIU's sixth straight and second in a row by 35 or more points.
BU applied a tenacious full court press from the opening tip to the final buzzer, and SIU simply couldn't handle it.
The closest SIU got to BU was when a Katie Berwanger jumper tied the game at 2-2 just 1:23 into the first half, but from then on, the Braves poured it on.
BU's defense held SIU to only six points in the first 11:24 of the game, as it built a 25-6 lead. The Dawgs not only went scoreless for 6:34, but they also turned the ball over 11 times during the stretch.
Amy Fuller, who scored BU's last five points of the half, gave the Braves a 34-18 lead at the break when her three-pointer at the buzzer hit nothing but net.
Fuller's trey was all the fuel BU needed to keep its momentum alive in the second half.
SIU opened the game's final 20 minutes with a 7-2 run and quickly cut BU's lead to 36-25 (18:31) on a Dana Pinkston three-pointer.
But the Braves were not at all phased by the Saluki threat, and as a result, answered with a 16-0 run by scoring on seven of its next eight possessions.
SIU, who missed on four consecutive trips down the floor during that span, turned the ball over four more times and went without a bucket for another 4:29, as the Braves upped their lead to 52-25 with 15:05 remaining.
Still not finished, BU used one final 16-0 run in the last 4:43 of the game to bury SIU.
Leading 66-47, Alex Liberatore came off the bench to score 10 of the Braves' 16 points during the surge which put the finishing touches on the 35-point win.
The Braves had four players reach double figures in the scoring column led by Genny Mueller's 17 points. Dena Williams followed with a double-double 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Liberatore and Va'Nicia Waterman each added 10.
BU's win over SIU also marked its largest road win over a MVC opponent since winning at Northern Iowa (90-50) on Feb. 28, 1991.
SIU, on the other hand, was led by Crutcher and Pinkston, who each scored 10 points.
As a team, SIU shot just 25.8 percent (8-of-31) in the first half. The Salukis also turned the ball over 27 times, marking the second straight game committing 27 or more.
Additionally, the Dawgs were held to under 20 points (34-18; 1st) in a half for the second game in a row. Not to mention, SIU has scored under 20 points in three of its last four halves of basketball.
The Salukis play their final home game of the season on Sunday, Feb. 29 when they host Northern Iowa. Tip off is at 2:05 p.m. All five Saluki seniors will be honored immediately following the game.
