Southern Illinois University
2-12, 0-5MVC
Northern Iowa*
10-5, 4-0MVC
Women's Basketball Loses to Northern Iowa, 64-40
01/14/2005 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2005
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Despite a remarkable effort by freshman India Bruster, who registered a double-double 16 points and 13 rebounds, Southern Illinois (2-12, 0-5) suffered a 64-40 loss to second-place Northern Iowa (10-5, 4-0) earlier tonight at SIU Arena.
The loss marked SIU's fifth straight in conference play this season.
After taking a quick 2-0 lead on a layup by Elyse Morris 1:21 into the game, UNI stormed to a 18-0 run with the help of SIU's five turnovers and seven missed field goals.
The Salukis would later go 0-of-9 from the field, before snapping a 7:35 scoreless drought when a India Bruster jumper made it 18-4 with 9:04 left.
Bruster's bucket sparked a 12-7 Saluki run over the rest of the stanza to bring the Dawgs to within nine, 25-16, at the break.
Neither team shot well in the first half, as each accounted for only eight field goals. What gave UNI more of an edge, however, was that it made four three-pointers and shot 5-of-8 from the free throw line.
After shooting 33.3 percent (8-of-24) in the first half, SIU regrouped to shoot 40 percent (12-of-30) in the second.
Bruster, shot 8-of-18 from the field and scored nearly half (5) of the Salukis' makes in the game's final 20 minutes.
With the exception of Bruster, SIU merely struggled to put points on the board, and as a result, fell behind by 27 points (63-36) when Kelly Lund knocked down a three-pointer with 35 seconds remaining.
Plus, it didn't help that SIU didn't shoot one free throw or make a three-pointer the entire game. UNI, on the other hand, went 15-of-20 at the charity stripe and finished at 5-of-13 from behind the arc.
As for turnovers, SIU finished with 19, but only committed three in the second half.
On the glass, UNI held a 35-31 advantage.
