Women's Basketball Opens MVC Play at Drake
12/31/2015 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
| SIU (7-5, 0-0 MVC) at Drake (7-4, 0-0 MVC) | |
| Date | Friday, Jan. 1, 2016 |
| Time | 2 p.m. CT |
| Location | Des Moines, Iowa / Knapp Center (7,152) |
| Game Notes | Southern Illinois  |
| Game Notes | Drake |
| Video | ESPN3 |
| Radio | Saluki All-Access |
| Live Stats | Stat Broadcast |
| Tickets | Buy Tickets |
| Media Guide | SIU Media Guide |
| Social Media | @SIU_WBasketball |
DES MOINES, Iowa - The Southern Illinois University women's basketball team opens up Missouri Valley Conference play on New Year's Day against Drake University. Tipoff at the Knapp Center is scheduled for 2 p.m. and the contest will be broadcast on ESPN3.
Southern enters the MVC portion of its schedule with a 7-5 non-conference record after falling to Marshall, 61-55, in its final non-conference game. In that loss, the Salukis held the Thundering Herd to under 40% shooting from the field (39.7%) and for the 10th time in 12 contests, out-rebounded their opponent, but ran out of gas in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, allowing Marshall to slip out of the SIU Arena with a win.
Southern Illinois grabbed 41 rebounds, 12 of which were on the offensive end, in the loss to Marshall to improve their offensive rebounds per game to 16.0, the 26th most per game in the nation. The Salukis rebounding effort is again led by the program's all-time leading rebounder, redshirt senior Dyana Pierre, who is ranked 14th nationally in rebounds per game (11.0) and 11th in offensive rebounds per game (5.0). Defensively, SIU is allowing 67.2 points per game and holding opponents to 28.5 percent shooting from the three-point arc, which is the lowest in the Valley.
Junior Lizzy Wendell, the MVC Preseason Player of the Year, leads Drake and the Valley with 20.9 point per game and is currently shooting at a 44.5% clip (81-of-182) while her backcourt mate, Caitlin Ingle leads the MVC with 6.6 assists per game.
"The thing with (Lizzy) Wendell, if she's shooting 7-for-30, you're doing okay," said SIU head coach Cindy Stein. "If she's shooting 14-for-25, you're not doing very good. She's going to take a lot of shots, you just hope that you can make her miss."
Drake is 7-4 this season and ranks 19th in the nation in scoring offense (80.1 points/game) and 22nd in three-pointers per game (8.2). In addition to Wendell, the Bulldogs' Maddy Dean (13.0) and Sara Rhine (11.1) are averaging double figures.
"(Drake's) x-factor is that they have so many other people who score for them if you take something away," said Stein.
For Southern, redshirt junior Rishonda Napier is averaging 15.4 points per game this season, the fourth-most in the Valley. Napier is also shooting 44% from the 3-point range, the third-highest in the MVC. The Salukis are 6-1 this season when their point guard from Burbank, Calif. shoots 40% or better from beyond the arc. Napier scored a career-high 30 points in SIU's 81-76 win over Drake on Feb. 6, 2015 and needs just two points to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
Following Friday's contest, the Salukis travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa to take on the Panthers of Northern Iowa. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
SERIES HISTORY
The Salukis and the Bulldogs will meet for the 80th time on Friday, with Drake leading the all-time series 52-27. Southern broke a four-game losing streak against Drake last year, with the Salukis defeating the then top-ranked Bulldogs, 81-76 on Feb. 6, 2015. SIU has lost nine-straight in Des Moines, with the last win at Drake coming on Feb. 16, 2007.
LAST TIME
SIU 81, DRAKE 76
It was a wild ride on Feb. 6, 2015 at SIU Arena as the Saluki women's basketball team emerged victorious in one of the best women's games in recent SIU memory, upsetting the top-ranked Drake Bulldogs, 81-76. The Salukis only turned the ball over six times (the fewest since Jan. 20, 2008, five, vs. Creighton), recorded 20 assists, hauled in 19 offensive boards (of their 47 total), and had four players in double-digit scoring and two with double- doubles -- led by leading scorer Rishonda Napier with a career-high 30 points (seven rebounds, 9-of- 21 FG, 5-of-13 3PT).
RPI RANKINGS
According to Warrennolan.com, SIU currently ranks 146th, while Drake has the highest RPI of any Valley team at 67th.
NAPIER NAMED MVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK/SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (Week of 12/22)
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 fourth in the Valley in scoring (15.4) and third in 3-point field goal percentage (.440).
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 12 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 1,466 career points. She needs 73 points to pass Amy Rakers (1987-1991) for most all-time. Over a 18-game stretch she would need to average 4.05 points per game this season to pass Rakers.
Macklin also needs to play 183 minutes over the course of the season to have played the most minutes in Saluki history. She currently ranks second at 3,389.
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)
PIERRE HITS THE CENTURY MARK
In the win over SEMO on Dec. 22, Dyana Pierre not only broke the school rebounding record- she also became the 39th Saluki to play in 100 games.
MACKLIN PASSES GRIFFIN
In the loss to Marshall on Dec. 28, Cartaesha Macklin passed former teammate Mercedes Griffin with her 110th game played, moving into 17th place in the category. By playing in 12 of the Salukis remaining 19 regular season games, Macklin can become the Salukis all-time leader in games played.
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 third in the Valley in 3-point field goal percentage (.440) and fourth in 3-pointers per game (2.8).
Southern is 6-1 this season when Napier makes 40% of her 3-point attempts.
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 10 of their 12 contests this season. The Dawgs are averaging 43.75 boards per contest, the 41st most per game in the NCAA, and have three players averaging five rebounds or more per game: Dyana Pierre (11.0), Kylie Giebelhausen (5.5) and Cartaesha Macklin (5.7). Drake comes into Friday's showdown averaging 40.18 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.
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 12 games this season, that she's totaled four assists or more in a single contest. She is the 49th Saluki to pass the 100 assists plateau and is 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 19 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 12 games.
NAPIER CHASING HISTORY
The redshirt junior from Bolingbrook, Calif. can join an exclusive club this season. She sits just 2 points shy of 1,000 and 17 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 9 assists and 20 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 nine boards in the win over SEMO on Dec. 22. The Salukis are 5-2 this season when Macklin grabs 5+ rebounds.
FEWEST FOULS
Southern leads the Valley in committing the fewest fouls- having committed just 174 fouls.
MACKLIN AT THE STRIPE
Cartaesha Macklin leads the Valley, and is fourth 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 (121), rebounds per game (11.0) and offensive rebounds per game (5.0), while ranking 25th in the nation in total rebounds, 13th in rebounds per contest, and 12th 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 first nine games of 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.
