Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Women's Basketball opens MVC Tournament Thursday against Bradley
03/07/2012 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
March 7, 2012
By Bill Ford
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill.— The Southern Illinois women's basketball opens the 2012 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at 4 p.m. Thursday against Bradley.
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Thursday, March 8
Time: 4:05 p.m. CST
Location: St. Charles, Mo.
Site: The Family Arena (12,000)
Webcast: Valley Live TV (free)
Radio: 810 WDDD-AM
Play-by-play by Patrick Erickson
Color commentary by Johnny Sole
Tournament Notes
MVCStCharles.com
Tournament Central
TEAM FACTS
No. 9 Southern Illinois Salukis (8-21, 4-14 MVC)
Head Coach: Missy Tiber, Third Year (182-143 overall, 15-73 at SIU)
No. 8 Bradley Braves (16-14, 7-11 MVC)
Head Coach: Paula Buscher, 12th Year (208-224 overall, 165-186 at BU)
SIU AT THE MVC TOURNAMENT
2012 marks Southern Illinois' 21st appearance in the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The No. 9 Salukis face No. 8 Bradley to open the tournament with the winner advancing to play top seeded Missouri State in the second round. SIU is 15-18 all-time in the tournament with tournament titles in 1987 and 1990. Southern has struggled in the tournament in recent years, however, winning just one tournament game since 1998. SIU has appeared in Thursday's opening round the past five seasons, posting their last tournament win in 2008 over Bradley.
SIU VS. BRADLEY
SIU dropped both of its regular-season matchups with the Braves. Bradley topped the Salukis 72-59 January 5 in Carbondale behind 18 points and eight rebounds from center Leah Kassing. Cartaesha Macklin led Southern's scoring effort with 19 points. The Braves won the return trip 66-50 on February 4 in Peoria, Ill., after out-rebounding the Salukis 55-33. MacKenzie Westcott had 15 points and 13 rebounds for Bradley while Kassing had 13 points and 11 boards. Macklin led SIU with 12 points. The two teams were whistled for a combined 50 fouls in the affair. SIU is 41-21 all-time against Bradley, but the Braves have won the last eight matchups. The Salukis are 4-0 all-time against Bradley in MVC Tournament play.
SOUTHERN'S DYNAMIC DUO
This season marks only the third in SIU history in which two Salukis have scored 400 plus points and also the third time two players have combined for 900 plus points. Through the end of the regular season, Cartaesha Macklin sits at 481 points for the season and Teri Oliver sits at 460. Their combined 941 points ranks as the second-highest two-player scoring total in school history. They both rank in SIU's top 10 individually for points in a season.
SIU's Top Scoring Tandems
1. 1982-83 — Warring (561), Price (449) 1,010
2. 2010-11 — Macklin (481), Oliver (460) 941
3. 1989-90 — Rakers (643), Smith (271) 914
4. 1985-86 — Jackson (487), Bonds (393) 880
5. 1996-97 — Hudson (428), McClendon (426) 854
6. 1984-85 — Jackson (509), Kattreh (329) 838
7. 1983-84 — Warring (477), Price (359) 836
8. 1978-79 — Faber (524), Foley (274) 822
9. 2005-06 — Moore (457), Sweere (360) 817
10. 2007-08 — Sweere (459), Ellen Young (358) 817
PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES
SIU shot a season-best 52.7 percent from the floor in its February 26 win over Evansville, which included a 70.8 percentage in the first half. SIU is 8-2 on the season when shooting 40 percent from the field or better. Conversely, the Salukis are 0-19 when shooting under 40 percent.
