Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Women's Basketball faces Drake Saturday
02/04/2011 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 4, 2011
By Bill Ford
SIUSalukis.com
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday, Feb. 5
Time: 5 p.m. CST
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Site: Knapp Center (7,152)
Radio: 810 WDDD-AM
Play-by-play by Patrick Erickson
Color commentary by Johnny Sole
Game Notes
Game Central audio (subscription)
TEAM FACTS
Southern Illinois Salukis (2-19, 0-10 MVC)
Head Coach: Missy Tiber, Second Year (174-113 overall, 7-43 at SIU)
Drake Bulldogs (10-11, 4-6 MVC)
Head Coach: Amy Stephens, Eighth Year (325-153 overall and 128-110 at Drake)
SCOUTING DRAKE
The Bulldogs ended a five-game losing streak with a 63-55 win over Evansville Thursday night in Des Moines. Kristin Turk poured in 28 points to lead Drake in the effort while Kayla Person added 15 points and Rachael Hackbarth chipped in 12 points and 11 rebounds. Turk leads the MVC and ranks 14th in the nation in scoring with an average of 20.2 points per game while Hackbarth is second on the team with an average of 12.9 points per game. Drake will be without its third leading scorer, Angela Christianson, for the second consecutive game as the freshman suffered a concussion after being struck by a car on campus Monday. The Bulldogs stand seventh in the MVC through Thursday's games.
SERIES WITH DRAKE
SIU trails the Bulldogs 46-24 in the all-time series between the two teams.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
Drake used a key late-game run to top the Salukis 70-57 Jan. 6 in Carbondale in what was a back-and-forth game until the last five minutes. The two teams saw 10 lead changes and five ties, including a 34-34 halftime stalemate before the Bulldogs finally broke away with an 8-0 run with under five to play. SIU had its lowest turnover total of the season with 12, but surrendered a 48-31 deficit on the boards. The Salukis shot 46.2 percent from the field in the first half, but dropped off to 29.4 percent after halftime. Brooke LeMar led a balanced Saluki scoring night with 10 points in addition to her five assists. Also for the Salukis, Teri Oliver had nine points while Renee Reed and Katrina Swingler both added eight.
CREIGHTON HANDLES SALUKIS
SIU couldn't capitalize on a key mid-game run in a 62-43 loss at Creighton Saturday. The Salukis went into halftime on a 6-0 run to come back from 15 points down to pull within 30-21. Southern couldn't carry the momentum out of the locker room, however, as Creighton started the second half on a 10-0 run and never looked back. Teri Oliver led SIU with a season-high 18 points while Katrina Swingler added 10 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
OLIVER HEATING UP
Saluki sophomore Teri Oliver had played some of her best basketball of the season since returning from a three-game suspension. Oliver has averaged15 points and six rebounds per game in the Salukis' last three games, including a season-high 18 points and seven rebounds against Creighton.
THINKING PINK
The matchup with the Bulldogs will coincide with Drake's Hoops-4-Hope game to raise breast cancer awareness. SIU will participate in a similar initiative Saturday when the Salukis host Evansville for the annual Pink Zone game. Saluki Athletics encourages fans to wear pink to the game and the SIU players will wear pink shooting shirts. Prizes will be raffled away courtesy of SIU Athletics and Southern Illinois Healthcare. Proceeds from the raffle will benefit SIH's fight against breast cancer.
