Southern Illinois University
0-1
Tennessee-Martin
1-0
Women's basketball falls to UT Martin 62-50
11/12/2010 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 12, 2010
By Bill Ford
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Southern Illinois women's basketball team struggled to find an offensive rhythm Friday night in 62-50 season-opening loss to UT Martin at SIU Arena.
Southern scored just 15 first-half points and shot 29.8 percent from the field as only five Salukis made it into the scoring column.
"We're having trouble generating offense, and that's my responsibility to figure out what we're going to do," Southern Illinois coach Missy Tiber said. "As coaches, we just have to figure it out. Maybe we need to make some changes offensively and look at doing some things a little bit different."
The Salukis jumped out to an early 7-2 lead and held the advantage for much of the first half thanks to solid defense and a scrappy effort on the boards. The Skyhawks found some open looks on the perimeter late in the half, however, and ended the half on an 8-2 run to take a 19-15 lead into the locker room.
SIU sophomore Teri Oliver hit a 3-pointer and a layup to give the Salukis a 20-19 lead to start the second half, but the advantage was short lived as UT Martin responded with a 5-0 run to take back the lead for good.
Playing from behind the rest of the way, Southern struggled on the glass and couldn't find an answer for Skyhawks guard Jasmine Newsome. UT Martin out-rebounded the Salukis 26-15 in the second half and Newsome scored 18 of her game-high 24 after halftime.
"We gave up too many offensive rebounds, and when you're a fast-break team you must get rebounds," Tiber said.
Oliver led the Saluki offense with 17 points while Katrina Swingler added 14 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out. Charnise Mitchell (eight points), Brooke LeMar (seven points) and Eboni Crayton (four points) were the only other Southern players to score.
"I think our offensive issues have to do with being smarter and mentally tougher," Tiber said. "There's a difference between playing hard and being mentally tough.
"You have to be the best at what you do to win games, and right now we are not the best at what we pride ourselves on, and that's rebounding the basketball and getting up and down the court."
The Salukis start the season at 0-1 heading into a Tuesday night matchup with another Ohio Valley Conference school in Tennessee State. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at SIU Arena.
