Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Salukis travel to Wichita State Saturday night
02/22/2013 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2013
By Bill Ford
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois women's basketball team looks to end an 11-game losing streak Saturday as the Salukis travel to Wichita State.
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Thursday, Feb. 23
Time: 7:05 p.m. CST
Location: Wichita, Kan.
Site: Koch Arena (10,502)
Radio: WHET 97.7 FM
Play-by-play by Bryce Williams
Color commentary by Johnny Sole
Saluki All Access (live audio)
Saluki Women's Basketball Twitter
TEAM FACTS
Southern Illinois Salukis (4-20, 1-12 MVC)
Interim Coach: Adrianne Harlow, First Year (0-8 overall, 0-8 at SIU)
Wichita State Shockers (18-8, 10-2 MVC)
Head Coach: Jody Adams, Fifth Year (110-77 overall, 86-69 at WSU)
SIU VS. WICHITA STATE
Southern leads its all-time series against Wichita State 35-28, although the Shockers have won the last six in the series. WSU enters Saturday's matchup atop the league standings with an 18-8 overall record with a 12-2 mark in league play. The Shockers started 9-0 in MVC play, but have since gone 2-2 in the Valley. WSU topped Evansville 68-49 Thursday night at Koch Arena led by 23 points and nine rebounds from sophomore guard/forward Alex Harden. The Shockers are led on the season by Jessica Diamond's 12.4 points per game while Harden is close behind at 10.3 points with a team-leading 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. WSU leads the MVC in field goal percentage, shooting 42.6 percent from the field this season and ranks second in the league in scoring defense, allowing an average of just 53.2 points per game.
LAST TIME THEY MET
Wichita State held off SIU's second-half rally for a 72-59 win January 25 in Carbondale. Southern showed some resilience after trailing by as much as 18 in the second half, but the difference in the game was the Shockers' 28 points off 21 Saluki turnovers. Rishonda Napier hit six 3-pointers to score a career-high 23 points while Dyana Pierre added 17 points and 15 rebounds to lead SIU. Chynna Turner had 22 points to lead the Shockers while Alex Harden added 15 points.
LEADING THE SALUKIS
Sophomore guard Cartaesha Macklin leads SIU and ranks sixth in the MVC with an average of 14.0 points per game while freshman guard Rishonda Napier is second on the team at 11.5 points per game. Freshman center Dyana Pierre leads the MVC in rebounding with a team-leading 8.7 per game, and ranks second in the Valley with an average of 1.1 blocks per game. Macklin leads the Salukis and ranks second in the Valley with an average of 4.0 assists per game.
MISSOURI STATE GETS BY SALUKIS
SIU held off every Missouri State run except the last one in an 81-74 loss to the Lady Bears Thursday night at JQH Arena. The Salukis led for a majority of the night, bouncing back on five occasions after MSU pulled ahead. Southern couldn't answer late in the game, however, when the Bears tied the game at 68-68 with four minutes to play and out-scored SIU 13-6 the rest of the way. Dyana Pierre led SIU with a career high 18 points to go along with 15 rebounds while Cartaesha Macklin added 15 points and eight assists, Jordyn Courier chipped in 14 points and Rishonda Napier and Azia Washington both scored 10 points. Tyonna Snow led the Lady Bears with 29 points, including an 18-for-26 performance from the free throw line.
PIERRE COMING ON STRONG
Redshirt-freshman center Dyana Pierre has been a force for SIU the last two weeks, posting three consecutive double-dobules. The recent string has elevated the Port St. Lucie, Fla., native back into the MVC's lead in rebounding with an average of 8.7 boards per game. Pierre scored a career-high 18 points to go along with 15 rebounds Thursday against Missouri State for her seventh double-double of the season, and her 10th game with double-digit rebounds.
SECOND HALF BLUES
SIU lost its last two games despite leading at the half. In both games, the Salukis have seen extreme dips in their shooting percentage between the first and second periods. SIU's shooting efficiency dropped 34.5 percentage points after the break last Saturday against Indiana State and fell 13 points Thursday at Missouri State. SIU is 4-3 overall on the season when holding a lead at half.
NAPIER MOVING UP
Freshman guard Rishonda Napier is on track to finish the season on SIU's top 10 freshman scoring list. The Burbank, Calif., native sits at 265 points through Thursday, needing just 15 points to tie No. 10 Mary Boyes (1979-80) at 280.
