Southern Illinois University
2-8
Murray State
2-8
Women's Basketball holds off Murray State 62-61
12/18/2010 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2010
By Bill Ford
SIUSalukis.com
MURRAY, Ky. -- Teri Oliver hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left to lift the Southern Illinois women's basketball team past Murray State 62-61 Saturday evening at CSFB Arena.
The shot negated a late-game comeback attempt by the Racers (2-8), who rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final five minutes of the game to pull ahead 61-59 with 21 seconds to play.
Southern (2-8) took its biggest lead of the game at 55-45 with 4:58 remaining before Murray State began its late-game charge. During the stretch, the Salukis struggled to get the ball up the court through the Racers' full-court press.
SIU turned the ball over 26 times in the game, including five key turnovers in the final five minutes. During its final possession, though, Saluki forward Charnise Mitchell somehow cut her way through the Racer press and found Oliver open on the left wing for the game winner.
"We had twice as many turnovers as they did, and for us to go on the road and win under those circumstance is a credit to our kids," said SIU coach Missy Tiber. "We shot the ball well, and we defended well. We just couldn't take care of the ball down the stretch.
"I'm just glad Teri made that shot. We had some issues down the stretch, but we found a way to win."
SIU jumped out to a 4-0 lead to start the game, but the Racers scored the next 11 to take their largest lead of the game at 11-4. Southern responded with a 15-4 run sparked by a string of Renee Reed 3-pointers to pull ahead 19-15 midway through the half.
Reed knocked down four first-half threes and scored 16 of her career-best 19 points in the first half to lead the Saluki offense. The redshirt freshman's previous best was six points.
"I don't know if it was one of those cases where they didn't know too much about her, but they did start yelling `shooter' as soon as she got the ball," Tiber said of Reed. "She stepped up big for us tonight."
Despite Reed's 3-point shooting torrent, the Racers worked their way back into the lead in the final 10 minutes of the first half, taking a 28-26 lead into halftime. SIU turned the ball over 16 times in the first half.
Coming out of the break, SIU took much better care of the ball and enjoyed some of its most efficient shooting of the season. The Salukis took back the lead five minuts into the half with a 3-pointer by freshman Sidney Goins and pushed the lead to 39-32 with an Oliver trey on the following possession.
SIU continued to push the lead over the next 10 minutes, mostly on inside looks by the frontcourt combo of Katrina Swingler and Mitchell. The duo combined for 17 points in the second half as Swingler scored nine of her 13 after the break and Mitchell scored all of her eight points in the second period.
Once the lead reached 10, however, Murray State's full-court pressure threw a wrench into the Salukis' offensive flow. The Racers converted SIU's late miscues into layups and free throw attempts, making seven of eight in the final five minutes.
The Salukis found a way to get a ball through the Murray State press when it counted, however, for Oliver's game-winner. Racer guard Mariah Robinson, who led all scorers with 20 points, tried for an inside jumper to win the game as time expired, but the shot drew iron.
The Salukis continue what will be a four-game road trip against Purdue Monday in West Lafayette, Ind.
"I think we are getting better. We just have to cut down on our turnovers," Tiber said. "We won tonight, but we've got to take a good look at why we are turning the ball over so much."
