Southern Illinois University
6-9, 2-4MVC
Wichita State
9-4, 3-2MVC
Women's Basketball loses to Wichita State, 66-57
01/14/2006 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2006
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
WICHITA, Kan. - Southern Illinois (6-9, 2-4) matched both a season-high 22 turnovers and season-low 33 percent from the field in a 66-57 loss to Wichita State (9-4, 3-2) earlier today at Charles Koch Arena.
WSU, who remained perfect at home with a 7-0 record, has beat SIU 10-straight times on its homecourt. The Salukis were also swept in their Missouri State/Wichita State road swing for the ninth year in a row.
"Our freshmen made aggressive mistakes and our upperclassmen made passive mistakes," said Saluki head coach Dana Eikenberg. "It's tough to win ballgames when you only have one player putting forth the effort day in and day out."
The "one" and most consistent Saluki Eikenberg is referring to is Carlai Moore, who single-handedly saved SIU from what could have been a disasterous first half.
SIU again had problems shooting and holding onto the ball early, where it made under 40 percent (36.8) of its field goals and turned the ball over nine or more times in the first half for the second consecutive game.
Moore, however, pitched in 18 points to outscore the rest of her teammates combined (13). Her 10-straight points to end the first half pulled the Dawgs to within five (36-31) at the break.
Moore lit up the Shockers for 8-of-15 field goals, pulled down six rebounds and knocked down a couple free throws in the game's opening 20 minutes.
WSU adjusted well on Moore in the second half, where it held the Salukis' top scoring threat to only five points.
It was then, where freshman Erica Smith stepped up.
Smith finished with a career-high 13 points, seven rebounds and four steals in 32 minutes off the bench to carry SIU in the second half. She also made back-to-back layups to slice WSU's lead to 52-47 with 7:47 left to play.
"Erica was terrific and did a nice job defensively," said Eikenberg.
SIU trailed again by five after Moore's jumper made it a 54-49 game with just under seven minutes to go. But, turnovers doomed the Dawgs, especially after timeouts, where SIU committed five of its miscues.
"Wichita State played harder and more aggressive than we did," said Eikenberg. "Our mistakes were conservative."
SIU, who couldn't get any closer than five points, trailed WSU by as many as 12 (66-54) before suffering the 66-57 loss.
Moore, who topped SIU in scoring for the ninth-straight game, finished with a double-double 23 points and 11 rebounds. She is the first Saluki to post a double-double in a game since India Bruster had 16 points and 13 boards vs. Northern Iowa on the exact same day a year ago.
Smith shot 50 percent (6-of-12) from the field on the afternoon. She also scored nine of her points in the second half.
Smith was a bright spot to the Saluki backcourt, which had seen Erin Pauk, Katy Freeman, Elyse Morris and Kaci Bailey account for a mere 26 percent of the team's total point output (82-of-314) through SIU's first five league games.
Pauk, along with sophomore guard Jayme Sweere, on the other hand, didn't play as well.
Pauk scored eight points on 3-of-10 field goals and two free throws. She also went 0-of-5 from three-point range, where SIU finished 0-of-8 on the day.
As for Sweere, she had only four points on 1-of-7 field goals after scoring double figures in three games prior to today.
"Overall, I'm extremely disappointed in our guards and their willingness to execute the game plan," said Eikenberg.
Kiki Stephens' 14 points led three Shockers in double figures. Antionette Wells followed with 12, while Whitney Rice added 10 off the bench.
The Shockers, despite turning the ball over 23 times and being outrebounded, 44-42, managed to control the paint, where it outscored SIU, 36-22.
SIU returns home to host league-leading Creighton on Thursday, Jan. 19. Tip off is at 7:05 p.m., CST.
