Southern Illinois University
2-9
Purdue
7-3
Purdue tops Women's Basketball 75-36
12/20/2010 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2010
By Bill Ford
SIUSalukis.com
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Southern Illinois women's basketball team couldn't keep pace with an physical Purdue team in a 75-36 loss to the Boilermakers Monday night at Mackey Arena.
"It's a tough matchup for our program as we are trying to build," SIU coach Missy Tiber said. "They are bigger, faster, and stronger than us, and that kind of dictated the entire game."
Despite a lopsided finish, Southern (2-9) had the better start to the game as the Salukis ran out to an 8-3 lead. SIU strung together the early advantage on a jumper by sophomore guard Teri Oliver and three layups by freshman center CiCi Shannon.
"The first five minutes out of the gate, I thought our kids were playing really hard," Tiber said. "We were playing together, we weren't playing afraid and we were doing our thing."
Southern took an 8-5 lead into the first media timeout before the Boilermakers (7-3) shook off their early-game malaise. Purdue turned up the tempo, out-scoring the Salukis 22-2 over the next seven minutes to take a 27-10 lead with 7:39 remaining in the half.
Oliver hit a 3-pointer at the 4:59 mark to help the Salukis pull within 31-17, but Purdue closed the half on a 9-2 run to take a 40-19 lead into the locker room.
"Some things changed. We started turning the ball over a little bit and we lost our intensity," Tiber said. "I don't think we played as hard in the remainder of the half as we did at the beginning of the game."
Purdue shot a blistering 51.7 percent from the field (15-for-29) in the first half and forced 14 Saluki turnovers in the opening period. Tiber said the Boilermakers switching defense prevented her team from getting many open looks throughout the first half.
Southern adjusted to the Purdue defense in the second half and managed to find more open shots, but couldn't get those shots to fall. SIU shot just 21.4 percent (6-for-28) after halftime to finish the game with a 27.5 percent clip (14-for-51) for the game.
"In the first half, we were doing everything we could to get shots. In the second half, we got some open looks and just didn't make them," Tiber said. "That was them forcing us to take that shot a little bit quicker than normal. A 6-2 kid running at you is a little bit different than a 5-8 kid running at you."
Despite the offensive struggles in the second half, Tiber said she was pleased with the defensive presence her team showed. SIU held Purdue to 33.3 percent shooting (9-for-27) in the second half. During one stretch in the second period, the Boilermakers scored 15 consecutive points from the free throw line and went 11 minutes without a field goal.
"Our defensive field goal percentage was one bright spot for us," Tiber said. "I think our defensive game plan was correct."
Charnise Mitchell led the Salukis with her 12 points and 13 rebounds for her second double-double of the season while Shannon chipped in 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. The Boilermakers enjoyed a slight 41-39 advantage on the boards, but the Salukis finished with 27 turnovers.
The Salukis concluded non-conference play with the loss, and will have a 10-day hiatus before the team starts Missouri Valley Conference play Dec. 31 at league-favorite Missouri State.
"We are extremely young and we make some crazy decisions with the basketball at times," Tiber said. "But for the most part, our kids play extremely hard. They are going to give us chances to win if we can take care of the ball. That is going to be the big factor for us moving forward."
