Women's Basketball Concludes Non-Conference Slate with Marshall
12/26/2015 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
| Marshall (9-1) at Southern Illinois (7-4) | |
| Date | Monday, Dec. 28, 2015 |
| Time | 2 p.m. CT |
| Location | Carbondale, Ill. / SIU Arena (9,000) |
| Game Notes | Southern Illinois  |
| Radio | Saluki All-Access |
| Live Stats | Game Tracker |
| Media Guide | SIU Media Guide |
| Social Media | @SIU_WBasketball |
CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Southern Illinois University women's basketball team returns to the SIU Arena to host Marshall University for its final non-conference contest of the season on Monday, Dec. 28.
The Salukis (7-4) have won three-straight, picking up their seventh win Dec. 22 with a victory at SEMO. Southern clinched back-to-back winning records in non-conference play for the first time since 1990-91 with the win. The game will air on WVZA 105.1 FM, with pregame beginning at 1:40 p.m. CST.
In the last meeting between the two schools on Nov. 27, 2013, Marshall defeated Southern Illinois in Huntington, W.Va., 82-59, as Southern trailed by just five at the half, but were undone by late turnovers and foul trouble. Only six of the current Salukis and four current Thundering Herd played in that contest.
The Thundering Herd (9-1) come into Monday's matchup riding their own three-game win streak, having last defeated West Virginia Tech, 83-39 on Dec. 22. Leah Scott, who scored 11 points in Marshall's 2013 win over Southern Illinois, leads the Thundering Herd in scoring with a 17.2 points per game average.
"(Marshall) is a good, quality team," said head coach Cindy Stein. "They are very young but man they're long and athletic. They'll try to cause some problems. One thing (Marshall head coach Matt Daniel) does is recruit a lot of kids that can score. They put up 104 points at Morehead State."
The Thundering Herd outlasted the Eagles, 104-101 on Nov. 13, while the Salukis defeated the Eagles, 102-69 on Dec. 12.
In Southern's most recent outing, the Salukis never trailed, getting out to a 13-0 lead against SEMO Dec. 22 and did not look back, winning 87-72. SIU was led by Rishonda Napier, who finished with 21 points and was one of five Salukis in double figures.
FASTBREAK FACTS
-Rishonda Napier needs just 14 points to become the 24th Saluki to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
-SIU has had at least two players in double figures in every single game this season, including five in the win over the Redhawks on Dec. 22.
-Dyana Pierre was the lone Saluki to score in double digits in the 2013 loss at Marshall, finishing with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Six returners played, with four scoring including Cartaesha Macklin, who tallied nine points and seven assists in the loss.
-Dyana Pierre grabbed her school-record 1,015th rebound of her career in the win over SEMO to become SIU's all-time leading rebounder. She leads the Valley with a 11.4 rebounds per game average.
-Three Salukis have double-figure season averages. Redshirt junior Rishonda Napier leads the team, and is second in the Valley, with 15.7 points per game, redshirt senior Dyana Pierre is averaging 13.6 and redshirt senior Cartaesha Macklin holds onto an 11.5 average.
-Southern leads the Valley, and ranks 47th in the nation, in committing the fewest fouls- having committed just 160 fouls.
-Cartaesha Macklin leads the Valley, and is fifth in the nation, in free throw percentage, currently shooting at a 93.8% (30-of-32) clip.
SERIES HISTORY
The Salukis trail in the all-time series against the Marshall Thundering Herd in a series that dates back to the 1993-94 season. SIU won the first meeting between the two schools as part of the Coca Cola Holiday Inn Classic during the 1993-94 season, but renew the rivalry following a year hiatus having lost the last two meetings including an 82-59 loss in Huntington, W.Va. two seasons ago.
LAST TIME
SIU 59, MARSHALL 82
The Saluki women's basketball team played a solid first half against the Marshall Thundering Herd, but couldn't maintain that momentum into the second half, falling 82-59 at the Cam Henderson Center on Nov. 27, 2013. Dyana Pierre, a sophomore then, had a then career-high 18 points in the loss.
SIU VERSUS CONFERENCE USA
SIU plays its first conference opponent of the season in Marshall. The Salukis are 9-17 all-time against Conference USA foes, including a 66-53 loss to Louisiana Tech in the Sweet 16 of the 1987 NCAA Tournament. Southern holds a 3-4 record at home against current C-USA members. The Salukis last win over a Conference USA member came at the SIU Arena on Dec. 15, 1996, a 91-72 win over Middle Tennessee State.
RPI RANKINGS
According to Warrennolan.com, SIU currently ranks 121st, a four-spot jump after the win over SEMO. Marshall currently ranks 171st in RPI and 337th out of 349 Division I teams in strength of schedule.
NAPIER NAMED MVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK/SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Junior guard Rishonda Napier scored 11 of her game-high 20 points in the first quarter to help Southern Illinois leave Mercer with a 55-52 victory over the Bears. She tied a career-best with six three-pointers on 6-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc, grabbed four rebounds and added two steals in the victory. She has scored in double figures in ten of SIU's 11 games this season, and became the first player in program history to hit six from beyond the arc in back-to-back contests. She currently ranks sixth in the Valley in scoring (15.2) and second in 3-point field goal percentage (.452).
Napier is the first Saluki to earn MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors since Christine Presswood did so during the 2009-10 season.
THE STEIN EFFECT
Since Cindy Stein's arrival in Carbondale, the Salukis have taken better care of the basketball than previous SIU squads. In 2013-14, Stein's first season at the helm, the Salukis finished with more assists than turnovers in three games- which was as many times as SIU had accomplished that feat in the previous three seasons combined. The following season, the Salukis finished with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio 14 times, the most since the 2007-08 team that accomplished the task 12 times en route to a WNIT berth. This season, the Salukis have finished with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio six times in 11 contests, and did so in four-straight games for the first time since the 2007-08 season. The Salukis are 18-5 under Stein when recording more assists than turnovers.
PIERRE NAMED PRESEASON ALL-MVC
Senior center Dyana Pierre was again one of six honorees on the MVC's Preseason All-Conference team. Pierre is coming off a superb junior campaign in which she became only the third Saluki to earn First-Team All-MVC honors in back-to-back seasons since Valley play began in 1992-93. Pierre has led the conference in rebounds in each of her three seasons, and her 10.2 career rebounds per game currently ranks her third in MVC history.
MACKLIN CLIMBING UP THE RANKS
Cartaesha Macklin currently ranks fifth all-time in SIU history with 1,451 career points. She needs 88 points to pass Amy Rakers (1987-1991) for most all-time.
Over a 19-game stretch she would need to average 4.6 points per game this season to pass Rakers. And with her two steals in the win over SEMO, moved into a tie with Dana Fitzpatrick (1985-89) and Jayme Sweere (2005-08) for 10th place all-time in school history.
1,000 POINTS-500 REBOUNDS CLUB
With eight rebounds in the win over Morehead State, Cartaesha Macklin became the 16th Saluki to score over 1000 points and grab 500 or more rebounds. Macklin is just the fourth to join the club since the 2001 season, with Dyana Pierre being the most recent member and also became the first Saluki to ever amass 1,400 points, 400 assists, and 500 rebounds in a career.
PIERRE ALL-TIME LEADING REBOUNDER
Sue Faber has some company. The 1983 SIU graduate, who scored 1,507 points and snagged 1,014 career rebounds has sat alone atop the all-time list as the top rebounder in Southern's history, as well as the lone member of the 1,000-point, 1,000-rebound club. Senior Dyana Pierre became the second Saluki to score 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds with her 14 boards in the win over Morehead State, and with her seven boards in the victory over SEMO became Southern's all-time leading rebounder. The redshirt senior forward is fourth all-time in Valley history.
Pierre became just the sixth in Valley history, and the first since 2008, to amass 1,000 pts/1,000 rebounds, joining:
Jennifer Kackza (Wichita State)
Alex Cook (UNI)
Angela Buckner (Wichita State)
Jill Martin (Drake)
Wanda Ford (Drake)
HAWKINS TO REDSHIRT
Head coach Cindy Stein announced that freshman Tiajaney Hawkins will require surgery on her injured shoulder, an injury she suffered against Memphis on Nov. 29, and will medically redshirt for the remainder of this season. Hawkins appeared in five games this season, averaging three points and one rebound.
TWO GOOD HALVES MAKE A WHOLE
Southern scored 50 points in the first half during its win over Morehead State on Dec. 12- its most in an opening half since tallying 52 points in the first half of a 95-76 victory over Indiana State on Jan. 3, 2008. The Salukis scored 52 points in the second half, the most in any half since putting up 52 in the second half against Saint Louis University on Nov. 14, 2008.
BENCH COMES ALIVE
The Saluki reserves scored 43 of SIU's school-record 102 points in the win over Morehead State- the most by a Saluki bench since in the 2007-08 season when the Saluki bench accounted for 46 of SIU's 71 points in a 71-55 win over Christian Brothers University on Nov. 12, 2007. All 11 who dressed in the win over Morehead State tallied at least one point- the first time 11 Salukis scored in one game since the Nov. 30, 2014 win over Mercer University.
3 SQUAD #BOOM
The Salukis drained 10 3-pointers in the win over Morehead State, including a career-high tying six from Rishonda Napier. It marks the first time that Southern has made double-digits 3s since March 14, 2013 against Evansville, and Napier's six 3s were the fifth-most in a single game in program history. Napier again tied a career-high with six three-pointers in the Dec. 19 win over Mercer, marking the second consecutive game in which she hit six triples. She is the first player in program history to hit six from beyond the arc in back-to-back contests and is the first Saluki since Teri Oliver in 2009-10 with five or more threes in back-to-back games. The Burbank, Calif. native ranks second in the Valley in 3-point field goal percentage (.452) and third in 3-pointers per game (2.8).
ACTIVE AROUND THE RIM
The Salukis out-rebounded Morehead State, 63-to-45 in the win on Dec. 12. SIU finished one off the school-record, and it marks the eighth-most rebounds in a single game in Valley history. The +18 rebounding margin was the largest for SIU since the Salukis posted a +20 in a 76-71 overtime win over Murray State on Dec. 19, 2009. All seven of SIU's wins this season have come in games in which Southern wins the rebounding battle, with the Salukis out-rebounding their opponent in a total of nine of their 11 contests this season. The Dawgs are averaging 44.0 boards per contest, the 33rd most per game in the NCAA, and have three players averaging five rebounds or more per game: Dyana Pierre (11.4), Kylie Giebelhausen (5.5) and Cartaesha Macklin (5.8). This week's opponent, Marshall comes into Monday's showdown averaging 43.60 rebounds per tilt.
LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD
The Salukis broke a 31-year old school record with 102 points in the win over Morehead State on Dec. 12. The previous record was 101, set on March 5, 1984. It's just the fourth time that Southern has cracked the century mark, and the second time during the Cindy Stein era. The +33 point margin of victory was the largest for SIU since a +33 win over Wichita State on March 3, 2007. The Salukis also had seven score in double figures- the first time that has happened dating back to the 1978-79 season.
JOINING THE CLUB
Senior forward/center Azia Washington became the 32nd Saluki to score 800 career points on Dec. 2, and only the 18th member of the 800-point/500-rebound club while Rishonda Napier scored her 900th career point in the win over SIUE on Dec. 4 to become the 26th Saluki to score 900-plus career points.
CANT CHECK ME
Rishonda Napier has only been held scoreless once in her career- in a 77-64 loss to Indiana State her freshman year.
GIEBELHAUSEN THE DISTRIBUTOR
Kylie Giebelhausen tied a season-high with four assists in the win over SIUE on Dec 4. It marks the 11th time in her career, and fifth time in ten games this season, that she's totaled four assists or more in a single contest. She currently is three assists away from 100 for her career- which would make her the 49th Saluki to pass the 100 assists plateau. In addition to those three assists, if the sophomore from East Peoria, Ill. scores 13 points she will become the 42nd Saluki, and fifth on the active roster, to total 300 points/150 boards/100 assists.
CORRIGAN PROVIDES BENCH DEPTH
Carlie Corrigan sits just one rebound from 100, and 21 points from 200 for her career. She would become the 92nd Saluki to amass 200 points/100 rebounds. Corrigan, who has been the Salukis' sixth-man this season and is a team captain, has played 20 or more minutes in six of SIU's 11 games.
MACK-ATTACK
fter coming off the bench for the first time in 100 games in the loss to Memphis, Macklin started both contests last week and averaged 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.0 steals to lead SIU to back-to-back wins. The redshirt senior from Mayo, Fla. shot 11-for-22 (50%) from the field, 7-of-12 (58%) from three, and 5-of-6 (83%) from the charity stripe. She opened the week with a game-high 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, including 5-of-6 from three, and added seven assists, four rebounds, one block and one steal in the 70-57 win over Murray State on Dec. 2. She followed that up with 10 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and a steal in the 71-57 victory over SIUE on Dec. 4.
NAPIER CHASING HISTORY
The redshirt junior from Bolingbrook, Calif. can join an exclusive club this season. She sits just 14 points shy of 1,000 and 19 steals from 100. If and when she does that, she will become the 10th Saluki, joining teammate Cartaesha Macklin, to score 1,000 points, snag 200 rebounds, dish out 200 assists and tally 100 steals. Dyana Pierre has an outside chance of joining Napier and Macklin in that club, needing 10 assists and 24 steals to do so.
MACKLIN CLEANING THE GLASS
56 times in her storied career, including seven times this season, Cartaesha Macklin has grabbed five or more rebounds in a single game, including eight boards in the win over Morehead St. on Dec. 12. The Salukis are 4-2 this season when Macklin grabs 5+ rebounds.
FEWEST FOULS
Southern leads the Valley, and ranks 47th in the nation, in committing the fewest fouls- having committed just 160 fouls.
MACKLIN AT THE STRIPE
Cartaesha Macklin leads the Valley, and is fifth in the nation, in free throw percentage, currently shooting at a 93.8% (30-of-32) clip. Macklin passed Molly McDowell (1999-03) for most free throws made in a career with her 368th make in the win over Murray State on Dec. 2.
PIERRE RANKED NATIONALLY
Dyana Pierre leads the Valley in rebounds (114), rebounds per game (11.4) and offensive rebounds per game (5.0), while ranking 29th in the nation in total rebounds, 12th in rebounds per contest, and eighth in offensive rebounds per game.
THREADING THE NEEDLE
Celina VanHyfte established a new career-high with four assists in the win over Mercer on Dec. 19. Her four assists were as many as she had in the previous nine games this season combined.
SALUKI RADIO NETWORK
The flagship station for Saluki women's basketball is WVZA 105.1 FM. Bryce Williams is in his fourth season as the full-time radio broadcaster for Saluki women's basketball. All audio from Saluki basketball games are available on SIUSalukis.com.
FOLLOW US
The official Twitter and Instagram of Saluki women's basketball is @SIU_WBasketball. This account features team news as well as live in-game updates. Fans can also follow Saluki Athletics @SIUSalukis for news on all SIU sports.
SALUKI NEWS ONLINE
SIUSalukis.com is the official website for SIU Athletics. It is the best source for up-to-date information on the Saluki women's basketball team. Rosters, box scores, cumulative statistics, pre-game notes and other materials are available on the site. You will need Adobe Acrobat to read PDF files.
