Women's Basketball opens season Friday at Austin Peay
11/09/2011 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 9, 2011
By Bill Ford
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill.— The Southern Illinois women's basketball team will open the 2011-12 season Friday as the Salukis travel to Clarksville, Tenn., to take on Austin Peay.
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday, Nov. 11
Time: 7 p.m. CST
Location: Clarksville, Tenn.
Site: Dunn Center (7,257)
Radio: 810 WDDD-AM
Play-by-play by Patrick Erickson
Color commentary by Johnny Sole
Game Notes
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TEAM FACTS
Southern Illinois Salukis (0-0)
Head Coach: Missy Tiber, Third Year (174-122 overall, 7-52 at SIU)
Austin Peay Lady Govs (0-0)
Head Coach: Carrie Daniels (63-95 overall and at APSU)
SIU VS. AUSTIN PEAY
The Salukis are 1-2 all-time against Austin Peay with the lone win coming last season in Carbondale. Last year's 76-64 win over the Lady Govs marked the program's first win in the renovated SIU Arena, and was the team's highest offensive output of the season. Austin Peay returns four starters and the team's top four returning scorers. Senior guard Whitney Hanley is the team's top returner after averaging 12.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game last season and being named Second-Team All-Ohio Valley Conference. Jasmine Rayner also returns 10.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
SALUKIS IN SEASON OPENERS
The Southern Illinois women's basketball team is 21-29 overall in season openers. The Salukis will look to end a two-year losing streak in season openers Friday. The Salukis are 7-15 when opening on the road since the 1975-76 season. SIU's last season-opening win on the road came over Illinois-Chicago to start the 2000-01 season.
WRIGHT SHINES IN EXHIBITION
Sophomore Antishia Wright made a splash in her Saluki debut, leading SIU with 23 points in the Salukis' 82-53 exhibition win over Christian Brothers November 1 at SIU Arena. The West Virginia transfer proved how hungry she was to play after sitting out last season. Wright led three Salukis in double figures as freshman Cartaesha Macklin scored 12 points and a pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds and senior Charnise Mitchell added 11 points.
STARTING WITH A CLEAN SLATE
Southern Illinois looks to close the books on a few inglorious records as the Salukis embark on the 2011-12 season. Southern's 2010-11 record of 2-28 broke school and Missouri Valley Conference records for losses in a season, and the Salukis became just the second team in MVC history to go winless in Valley play. SIU will try to end its school and MVC record 20-game losing streak against Austin Peay.
FROM MO-VALLEY TO O-VALLEY
Austin Peay is one of five Ohio Valley Conference teams the Salukis will face during the 2011-12 season. Southern also has matchups with OVC members SIU Edwardsville, UT Martin, Tennessee State and Murray State.
THE CALIFORNIA CAPTAIN
Thanks to her hard work in the offseason and in the team's preseason practices, sophomore point guard Brooke LeMar has been named the team's captain to start the 2011-12 season. LeMar returns the second-leading assists per game average in the MVC after averaging 4.5 assists per game last season as a true freshman. She tallied seven assists with just three turnovers in the Salukis' exhibition win over Christian Brothers.
OLIVER IS GOOD COMPANY
Junior Teri Oliver is Southern's most seasoned player as the only Saluki that has been on the team's roster prior to last season. A two-year starter, Oliver is SIU's top returning scorer and the fifth-best returning scorer in the MVC after averaging 13.0 points per game last season. Only one player in the MVC, Indiana State's Brittany Shoen, has made more 3-pointers than Oliver the last two seasons. She earned Honorable Mention All-MVC honors last season and was named to the MVC All-Freshman Team in 2010.
SALUKIS PICKED 10TH IN MVC PRESEASON POLL
The annual poll of Missouri Valley Conference coaches, media and sports information directors ranked the Salukis in the same spot they finished the 2010-11 season. SIU garnered 65 points in the poll, which was topped by Missouri State. The Lady Bears were tabbed as the preseason conference favorite with 396 points and 36 first-place votes.
S - I - YOUTH
The Southern Illinois roster contains just two upper classmen in senior Charnise Mitchell and junior Teri Oliver, while the Salukis have 12 players who are freshmen or sophomores. Despite the lopsided ratio, Southern actually returns more years of Division I experience this season (8) than it did last season (7).
YOUNG GUNS
SIU's current freshman class comes in as the 36th best recruiting class in the nation for 2011 as ranked by ESPN Hoopgurlz. SIU was the only MVC school to secure a top-60 class as ranked by Hoopgurlz and only three programs from mid-major conferences signed classes that ranked higher than SIU's.