Southern Illinois University
2-3
Northern Illinois
3-3
Northern Illinois holds off Women's Basketball 53-50
11/29/2011 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 29, 2011
By Bill Ford
SIUSalukis.com
DEKALB, Ill. — The Southern Illinois women's basketball team rallied from a late deficit, but couldn't complete the comeback in a 53-50 loss to Northern Illinois Tuesday night at the Convocation Center.
The Salukis (2-3) trailed 49-41 with 3:12 to play before fighting back to take a 50-49 lead with under a minute to play. The Huskies (3-3) worked the ensuing possession deep into the shot clock before hitting a jumper with 13 seconds remaining to take the lead back.
SIU guard Cartaesha Macklin's driving layup missed on the opposite end and the Salukis fouled on the rebound. Huskies forward Natecia Augusta hit a pair of free throws to put NIU up 53-50 with 2.2 seconds remaining, and the Huskie defense kept the Salukis from getting off a desperation shot at the buzzer.
"If we would have had that same intensity that we had that last 3:30 of the game for most of the game, then it is a different story," said SIU coach Missy Tiber. "We kind of sleep walked a lot."
The two teams traded blows throughout the first half with neither team leading by more than four points before the Huskies went into the locker room with a 26-25 lead. Neither team distanced itself in the second half either until the Huskies finally broke open the eight-point advantage with under four minutes to play.
The Saluki offense had trouble throughout the night with NIU's defense, especially in the second half. Southern finished the game 27.9 percent from the field (17-for-61), but shot just 21.2 percent (7-for-33) in the second half.
"You've got to give them credit. (NIU coach) Kathi Bennett is well known for her defense," Tiber said. "There were no easy shots tonight. We worked hard to get the 50 points that we did get."
Another big difference in the second half was NIU's rebounding. The Huskies finished the game with a 49-34 edge on the boards, out-rebounding the Salukis 29-17 after the break.
"How we are even in the game at the end, and up one with under a minute to play, is completely amazing when we get out-rebounded by 15," Tiber said.
SIU guard Teri Oliver led all scorers with 18 points to go with six rebounds while Macklin added 15 points and six boards for the Salukis. Amanda Corral led NIU with 17 points while Augusta added 14 and Kim Davis pulled down 13 rebounds.
The Salukis will be back in Carbondale Saturday to host SIU Edwardsville at SIU Arena.
Note: SIU guard Teri Oliver's third 3-pointer against the Huskies helped her set a new school record for career 3-pointers made. Oliver now sits at 162 made 3-pointers for her career, overtaking Karrie Redeker's 161 from 1988-92.
