Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Women's Basketball to host Illinois State
01/02/2007 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2007
www.siusalukis.com
Date: Thursday, January 4, 2007
Tip Off: 7:05 p.m. CT
Site: Carbondale, Illinois - SIU Arena (10,014)
The Series: ILS leads, 43-42
Head Coaches: SIU: Dana Eikenberg (57-123 overall, 19-49 at SIU)
Illinois State: Robin Pingeton (50-51 overall and at ILS)
Rankings: NR
Radio: NA
Audio Webcast: www.siusalukis.com
Livestats: www.siusalukis.com
This Week
The Salukis return home to continue Missouri Valley Conference play. SIU will host Illinois State Thurs. Jan. 4 at 7:05 p.m. CT. Sat. Jan. 6, the Salukis will take on Indiana State at 2:05 p.m. CT. Both games are at SIU Arena
Last Week
The Salukis swept Wichita State and Missouri State Dec. 28 and 30 on the road for the first time since 1988-89. Southern took a game from the Shockers for the first time since the 2004-05 season, 74-64. SIU snapped a nine-year drought against MSU in its 63-38 shut down of the Bears.
Best MVC Start Since 1993
The Saluki sweep last week puts the team at 6-7 on the season and 2-0 in the league, their best start to the Missouri Valley Conference season since 1993-94 when head coach Cindy Scott led her team to a 4-0 start with wins over Evansville, UNI, Bradley and Drake before dropping a game to Creighton to begin league play.
Series History
The Redbirds lead the series against the Salukis just 43 games to 42. SIU has taken two-straight contests opening with a win over Illinois State in conference play a year ago. Prior to last season, the `Birds took four straight games from the Salukis.
Eikenberg Against ILS
Saluki head coach Dana Eikenberg begins her third conference season against the Redbirds. SIU was swept by ILS in Eikenberg's first season as head coach. Last season, Illinois State was one of two teams the Salukis swept in conference play, evening Eikenberg's tally against the Redbirds at 2-2.
Previewing the `Birds
ILS is currently 9-4 on the season with seven of the nine wins coming at home. The Redbirds are currently on a two-game win streak, opening conference play with a sweep of Creighton and Drake.
Preseason pick: Returning all five starters from a year ago, Illinois State was picked to finish fifth place of 10 teams in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2006-07.
2005-06 finish: The Redbirds return five starters from a team that went 12-16 overall and 7-11 in league play for a tie for seventh-place finish in the MVC standings.
Scouting report: Illinois State returns 11 letterwinners from last season's squad, including all starters. Tiffany Hudson, point guard Kristi Cirone and Megan McCracken return. Cirone and Kenyatta Shelton are leading the team this season, Cirone averaging 13.6 points, 3.5 boards and 6.8 assists. Shelton averages 10.9 points, 8.2 boards for the Redbirds.
Last Time Out: Erin Pauk's running layup off the glass with two seconds left in overtime gave Southern Illinois a 59-58 win over Illinois State Mar. 4, 2006 at SIU Arena. SIU was led by Carlai Moore's double-double 22 points and 14 rebounds. For Moore, the double-double was her second this season. Jayme Sweere followed with 16 points off the bench, while Pauk finished with six. Both SIU (38.1) and ISU (38.3) shot under 40 percent on the day. Holly Hallstrom, like Moore, also had a double-double to top the `Birds. She turned in 27 points and 14 rebounds. Kristi Cirone (10) and Megan McCracken (11) also pitched in double figures.
Burris earns weekly honors
Junior Debbie Burris was named this week's Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week, the league announced Tuesday. She averaged 12.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks, shooting 56 percent (9-of-16) from the field, was perfect from the charity stripe and shot 50 percent (5-of-10) from beyond the 3-point line. Burris scored in double figures (14) in a win over Wichita State to open MVC play, adding three assists and three steals, then turned around to score 11, adding four boards in a victory over Missouri State.
Under 70
In all six wins this season, the Salukis have held their opponents under 70 points. The Salukis picked up a big win over Missouri State Sat. Dec. 30, 63-38. It was the first time a SIU team held an opponent under 40 points since January, 1990 when they held Indiana State to 38 points under former Saluki head coach Cindy Scott.
Babies
SIU opened the Missouri Valley Conference season with a sweep of Wichita State and Missouri State on the road. Saluki freshman Dana Olsen wasn't even one-year-old, the last time Southern took both games of the road trip back in January of the 1988-89 season.
Smith accepts role
Saluki guard Erica Smith recently moved from the bench to the starting point guard at SIU. She accepted the role and in three starts has averaged 9.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 3.3 assists per game. In those games she is shooting 57 percent (13-of-23) from the field and 44 percent (4-of-9) from beyond the arc.
Pauk emerges from slump
Junior guard Erin Pauk had not attempted more than four field goals in a game through 10 contests this season. She scored a season-high eight points at South Alabama, but that was the closest the 2005-06 starting point guard had come to reaching her career-best 19 points. Tues. Dec. 19, Pauk emerged off the bench to score a season-best 17 points, including a career-high five threes to push her team past Tennessee Tech. She shot 6-of-13 from the field and 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Olsen moves from bench to starter
Freshman Dana Olsen has worked her way into the starting lineup after just eight games this season. The forward averaged 7.9 points, 3.3 boards, shooting 60 percent from the field off the bench. In her first two games as a starter, Olsen averaged 6.5 points, 5.0 boards, shooting 80 percent from the field. She recorded a career-best 24 points against Murray State and 10 rebounds at Indiana. The freshman is first on the team shooting .610 from the field.
Salukis from the field
Southern Illinois is first the league in team field goal percentage at .478 on the season. This season, seven of 10 players are shooting at or above 40 percent. Senior Carlai Moore (.607) and freshman Dana Olsen (.610) are shooting above 60 percent from the field.
Stay Tuned; Moore to Come - 10th in the nation
Carlai Moore has led the Salukis in scoring in nine of 13 contests this season. The Salukis' lone senior, Moore is currently third in scoring (16.5 ppg) and first in field goal percentage (.607) in The Valley this season. The 2006 MVC Newcomer of the Year, she is currently 28th all-time in scoring at SIU with 671 points in just her second season with the Salukis. ***The senior is currently ranked nationally in field goal percentage (.607/10th).
SIU overcoming charity stripe woes
Slowly but surely, the Salukis are improving their free throw percentage. Once under 50 percent on the season, SIU went 26 of 31 from the charity stripe in the odwalla Classic to improve their season mark. Following the Tenn. Tech game Dec. 19 (18-of-23 from the line), SIU has moved up from ninth to seventh in the league. Now shooting .696, Southern is 142-of-204 from the line.
Moore named All-Tournament
Saluki forward Carlai Moore led SIU in scoring, named to the odwalla Classic All-Tournament Team for her efforts in the two-game tournament. She highlighted the week, recording a season-high 27 points, adding five boards against, at the time, No. 20/24 Kentucky. In the tournament. She averaged 20.5 points, 3.0 boards and 1.5 assists.
Benchwarmers
In five of six Southern Illinois' wins this season, the Saluki bench has made a significant impact, out-scoring the opponents bench, by as many as 29 points. SIU is 1-5 in games in which its opponents bench has out-scored the Saluki bench. Southern's largest margin came in a victory over Murray State. The Salukis out-scored the Racers' bench 35 to 6.
Sweere Steps Up
Saluki guard Jayme Sweere stepped up to lead the Salukis past Murray State for their first victory of the season. The junior recorded 18 points, six boards, five assists, a career-high four blocks and two steals in the second game of the season. She produced a season-high 23 points to help pull the Salukis past Weber State on the road. Sweere is averaging 10.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, tallying 34 assists and 19 steals in 26.2 minutes per game.
Dawg House Packed - Salukis Shatter Home Attendance Record
The season opener against Missouri Sunday, Nov. 12, drew an attendance of 3,367 the mark broke the all-time single-game record at SIU Arena. The previous record of 2,003 was set back in January of 1989 at a match up between Southern and Wichita State.
SIU in Sunday slump
During the last two seasons, the Salukis were 0-9 on Sundays during the regular season. Sunday, Nov. 10, the Salukis opened the 2006-07 regular season with a 71-60 loss to Missouri to bring their Sunday record during the last three years to 0-10. The Salukis play again on Sunday, Feb. 4, when they take on Illinois State.
Moving on Up
The 2005-06 team recorded 10 wins in a season for the first time since 1997-98. The Salukis won four non-conference games and six Missouri Valley Conference games during the 2005-06 season. The conference mark is the highest since 1997-98 under former head coach Cindy Scott. SIU also garnered a winning record at home (7-6) for the first time since 1996-97. Last season the Salukis ranked second in The Valley in both field goal percentage (.421) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.294).
Salukis make strides in The Valley
• SIU swept two league opponents (Creighton and Illinois State) for the first time in a season since 1998-99. In 1998-99 the Salukis swept Bradley and Illinois State. • Ended a 19-game losing streak against Drake. Before the Salukis' victory at home over the Bulldogs Jan. 21, 2006, SIU had not taken a game since 1996 when they swept Drake. • Finished last in the MVC four years in a row prior to finishing eighth last season. In 1999-2000, SIU finished tied for eighth with a 5-13 record.
Radio
Mississippi River Radio will broadcast selected games throughout the 2006-07 Saluki women's basketball season. Mike Reis will call the play-by-play action. These selected broadcasts can be heard locally on WCIL 1020 AM or WUEZ 95.1 FM. The radio feed can also be heard live on the athletics website at www.siusalukis.com, using QuickTime software. The games that are not being broadcast by Mississippi River Radio will be webcast live on www.siusalukis.com by Thad Jackson and/or Patrick Erickson.
Postgame Interviews in SIU Arena
Postgame interviews at SIU Arena are held in the Saluki Room located at the top of the stairwell on the south end of Lingle Hall. Coaches and players will be available 10 minutes following the conclusion of each game.
Interviews During the Week
Please arrange all interviews of players and coaches through Shalae Schulte. She can be reached by phone at (618) 453-7102 (office) or (618) 967-8997 (cell) and via e-mail at sschulte@siu.edu.
www.siusalukis.com
The official website www.siusalukis.com is the best source for up-to-date information on the Saluki women's basketball team. Rosters, box scores, cumulative statistics, pre-game notes and other materials are available on the site. You will need Adobe Acrobat to read PDF files.
