Southern Illinois University
7-4
SEMO
6-6
Salukis never trail in 87-72 win over Redhawks
12/22/2015 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Junior Rishonda Napier scored 21 points and was one of five Salukis in double figures as SIU never trailed, holding on to defeat the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks, 87-72 Tuesday inside the Show Me Center.
The Salukis improve to 7-4, clinching back-to-back winning records in non-conference play for the first time since 1990-91, and won in Cape Girardeau for the first time since 1981.
"Rishonda really led the surge," said head coach Cindy Stein. "When we needed to have something good happen and they could've made a run at us, Rishonda did everything she could to put us basically on her back and hit some great shots to get us back going and instill confidence in everyone."
Napier, the reigning Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week, finished with a game-high 21 points on 6-of-17 shooting, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc, and took over the contest late in the third. The Burbank, Calif. native led an 8-0 Saluki run by herself, draining a pair of 3-pointers and dishing off to a wide open Kylie Giebelhausen for one of her nine assists during a stretch that broke the game open for SIU.
"I just wanted to come with energy and focus and get the second half started and get it rolling how we did in the first quarter," said Napier.
The Salukis once again won the battle on the glass, grabbing 45 boards, and have now out-rebounded their opponent in all seven wins this season. Southern held SEMO to just 30 rebounds, keeping the Redhawks well below the 44.09 rebounds per game they came into the contest averaging.
"We did everything we could to keep them off the boards, and for the most we handled the physicality of the game really well," said Stein.
All five starters scored in double figures for the Salukis, led by Napier and sophomore Kylie Giebelhausen, who tied a career-high with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.
"Kylie took good shots today," said Stein. "She had really good shot selection and was ready to shoot. She has spent countless hours in the gym the past couple of weeks and it paid off today."
Junior Kim Nebo finished with 10 points and six rebounds, senior Cartaesha Macklin tallied 15 points and a season-high nine rebounds, and senior Dyana Pierre scored 12 points, grabbed seven boards and added a pair of blocks. On Pierre's third rebound of the contest, her 1,015 career board, she passed Sue Faber for first all-time in SIU history.
Southern Illinois opened the game with a three from Giebelhausen. The Redhawks turned the ball over on three straight possessions, with the Salukis capitalizing on each to the tune of a 9-0 run over the opening two minutes of play.
"Kylie came out hitting her first three, then we saw Cartaesha make a three, and just seeing the ball go in the basket on our first couple of attempts was huge for us and we were able to keep that intensity up for a little while," said Napier.
Southern's lead grew to 13-0 before Southeast Missouri State got on the scoreboard with a layup off an offensive rebound. SEMO went on a 6-1 run, before a Carlie Corrigan three put the Salukis ahead by nine, 17-8 with 2:39 remaining the first. The Salukis led by seven with 21-14, before the referees went to the review monitor and assessed a flagrant foul on Pierre, trimming the Saluki lead down to six (21-15) at the end of the first stanza.
Giebelhausen again got the offense jumpstarted in the second quarter with a three. SEMO clawed there way back in the game throughout quarter, cutting the Salukis lead down to three with a corner 3-pointer by Hannah Noe. The two sides traded misses, before Giebelhausen connected on her third triple in three tries to push Southern's lead back to 46-40 before intermission.
The home team went on a 6-2 run to open the second half. The home crowd smelled blood as the Redhawks cut their deficit down to two, 48-46 with 6:31 remaining the third but Napier went to work. On the Salukis ensuing possession, she created separation with a step back dribble and drained a three. She followed by leading the break and finding an open Giebelhausen for a layup, and then topped off the run with her second three of the game to push SIU's advantage back to ten (58-48) with 4:35 to play in the quarter. The Saluki lead remained that way, until the Redhawks drew a foul with :02 showing on the clock. Adrianna Murphy made the first free throw, but missed the second, and her teammate, Deja Jones tipped in the rebound to get SEMO to within seven (60-53) at the break.
It was the Redhawks turn to open a quarter with a three, cutting the Salukis lead down to four, 60-56. But that was as close as SEMO got, as Napier again provided an answer in the form of a three, and SIU cruised from that point to its third-straight win.
The Salukis will break for the holidays, but return to the SIU Arena on Dec. 28 to take on the Marshall Thundering Herd. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
