Women's Basketball atop the MVC in latest RPI ratings
12/04/2014 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
By Tyler Wooten
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Head coach Cindy Stein has the Women's Basketball program in the midst of a stunning turnaround after the team's first five games. When you consider that the program produced a dismal 25-125 (.167) record in the previous five years, the turnaround during Stein's second season at the helm is all the more remarkable.
The Salukis are 4-1 after consecutive home wins against Memphis (82-75), Southeast Missouri (78-62) and Mercer (67-52), plus a 1-1 start on the road against 2014 NCAA Tournament teams UT Martin (W, 87-78) and Wright State (L, 70-50). Thanks to SIU's tough schedule, the Salukis are currently the highest-rated Missouri Valley Conference school in the first official RPI rankings from the NCAA, checking in at No. 32.
For some perspective, last year's MVC champion Wichita State is ranked No. 46, and Indiana State -- which just knocked off Big Ten neighbor Indiana -- is slotted No. 52. SIU's opponent this Saturday, Illinois, is ranked No. 66 and has already upset the 9th-ranked team in the nation, Kentucky.
1. Here are some early-season milestones for the Salukis.
• First season-opening win since 2008.
• First season-opening victory on the road since 2000.
• SIU's 87 points against UT Martin was the most scored in any regulation game since Nov. 22, 2011 (at Tennessee State, 89).
• First home opener victory since 2008.
• First time SIU was 2-1 since 2008, 3-1 since 2005-06, 4-1 since 1991-92.
• First time SIU has won consecutive games since 2012-13.
• First time SIU has won consecutive games at home since 2008-09.
• SIU's 16-point victory over Southeast Missouri was the largest since Southern beat Evansville by 26 on Feb. 26, 2012 (72-46).
• First time SIU has won three-straight games since 2007-08.
• First time SIU has won three-straight home games since 2008-09.
• SIU's win over SEMO, combined with its 15-point win over Mercer, are the first consecutive 15-point victories since 2007-08.
2. SIU is paced by its top three scorers -- Rishonda Napier (18.4 PPG), Dyana Pierre (14.4) and Azia Washington (10.8) -- who are a combined 88-of-185 (.476) from the field. The Salukis have also been sharp from beyond the arc, sinking 33.3 percent of their 3-point attempts. The 28 threes SIU has made this year (with 16 coming from Napier and Kylie Giebelhausen alone) are nearly one-third of Southern's total all last season (87).
3. In the press conference after the Mercer victory, Stein acknowledged that they want defense to be their "bread and butter." Southern's defense certainly impressed against Mercer on Sunday. Entering that contest, the Bears boasted one of the country's top scorers in Precious Bridges, who was averaging 28.2 points. The Salukis shut her down, holding Bridges to only eight points on 4-of-13 shooting. The Salukis forced 14 Mercer turnovers and grabbed 10 steals, already matching last season's total of games with double-digit steals.
4. The assist-to-turnover ratio has been a sore spot for the Salukis over the last few seasons, but through five games this year the tide is turning. The Salukis have had at least 17 assists in three of their five games, a feat SIU only accomplished twice last season -- with one occurrence coming in a double-overtime thriller against Bradley. In each game this season the number has gone down from the previous outing. The jump in assists can be credited to some superb ball movement in attempts to get the ball inside to center Dyana Pierre, which in turn opens lanes for SIU's guards and forwards.
5. The jump in assists can also be credited to having two tremendous guards back on the floor in Cartaesha Macklin and Rishonda Napier, who combine for 32 of SIU's 69 assists this year. Macklin, who could end up in the top-five all-time at SIU in scoring (she currently has 1,078 points and is in 21st place), has been invaluable on the offensive glass and transition defense. She has 20 of Southern's 77 offensive rebounds, which has led to some crucial second-chance buckets for the Salukis. Napier has been SIU's leading scorer in three of five games and has yet to score fewer than 10 points per game. Napier's 18.4 PPG currently ranks second in the Valley.
6. Speaking of Pierre, the preseason All-MVC center has been a one-woman wrecking crew down low for the Salukis. She is currently averaging a double-double on the season at 14.4 points and 11.6 rebounds per game, thanks to three more double-doubles this year to push her career total to 24. Even at the onset of just her third year at Southern, Pierre is one double-double away from cracking the all-time Valley top-10. She also just took 12th place all-time at SIU in career rebounds with 622. Her 11.6 boards per game leads the Valley by a whopping three rebounds per game.
7. Forward Azia Washington has provided a nice complement to Pierre on the block, but her success this year has been in stretching the floor to contrast the attention Pierre has been receiving. Entering this season, Washington only had two 3-point field goals in two seasons with the Salukis. In five games this year, Washington has nailed 7-of-12 attempts from beyond the arc, giving Southern yet another deep threat. Washington's signature move is still the mid-range fade jumper, though; if you haven't seen it before, it is a thing of beauty.
8. Freshman Kylie Giebelhausen wasted no time establishing herself as a central figure of SIU's lineup going forward. She earned her first-career start against Memphis on Nov. 26 and hasn't disappointed. Giebelhausen has provided a spark on both sides of the ball, as she finished the weekend averaging 9.0 points per game on 6-of-17 3-point shooting (.353) while also averaging 2.7 assists and 4.0 blocks per game. Her length caused trouble for all three teams Southern faced last week, as she had five blocks apiece against Memphis and SEMO before settling for two against Mercer. On the season, Giebelhausen is averaging 7.0 points, 2.6 blocks, 2.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and is 8-of-26 from beyond the arc (.308). Giebelhausen's 2.6 blocks per game ranks first in the Valley by a whole block per game and has four more blocks than any individual in the conference.
Be sure to come on out to SIU Arena this Saturday for a great day of basketball. First, the Saluki women will try to topple the Illini for the first time since 1993 in Illinois' first trip to Saluki Country since 1995 at 2:05 p.m. All tickets for the SIU-Illinois contest are just $1. Later that night the Saluki men will play Austin Peay at 7:35 p.m.
