Salukis look to extend win streak at Illinois on Tuesday
12/07/2015 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
| Southern Illinois (4-3) at Illinois (5-1) | |
| Date | Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015 |
| Time | 7 p.m. CT |
| Location | Champaign, Ill. / State Farm Center (15,500) |
| Game Notes | Southern Illinois  |
| Radio | Saluki All-Access |
| Watch | Big Ten Network |
| Tickets | Buy Tickets |
| Live Stats | Sidearm Stats |
| Social Media | @SIU_WBasketball |
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University women's basketball will travel up I-57 to continue its rivalry with the University of Illinois at the recently renovated State Farm Center looking to extend its two-game win streak.
SIU is coming off wins over Murray State and SIU-Edwardsville, and leads the all-time series against Illinois, 21-14 in a series that dates back to the 1962-1963 season. The Salukis won seven of the first eight meetings, including seven in a row from 1965-66 to 1970-71 under the leadership of legendary head coach, Charlotte West. The Illini have won six straight over the Salukis dating back to the 1994 season. SIU last won at Champaign, Ill. on Dec. 13, 1992, a 74-70 Southern win, and last defeated the Illini the following year on Dec. 11, 1993, a 69-65 win in Carbondale, Ill.
LAST TIME
Illinois 86, SIU 42
Illinois took advantage of an early lead over the Salukis and never let go as Southern Illinois fell to the Illini, 86-42, at SIU Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The Illini were in control over the Salukis in the first half, jumping out to a 7-0 lead before Southern scored its first points at the 14:53 mark. Illinois' 2-2-1 trap zone wreaked havoc on what was a highly efficient Saluki offense. The Illini defense forced 14 first half turnovers and held SIU to 15 points on 17.9 percent shooting in the opening frame en route to a 57-15 difference at the break -- spurred by a 39-6 run over the last 11:52.
Rishonda Napier led the Salukis with 18 points.
SIU VERSUS THE BIG TEN....
The Salukis are 35-51 lifetime against current Big Ten schools, with the last win over a Big Ten opponent coming on Dec. 11, 1993- a 69-65 win over the Illini in Carbondale. The last SIU win on the road over a Big Ten opponent was the year prior- a 74-70 win over Illinois on Dec. 13, 1992.
RPI RANKINGS
According to Warrennolan.com, SIU's RPI currently ranks 186th, while Illinois ranks 18th.
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 10.1 career rebounds per game currently ranks her third in MVC history. The senior center is 38 rebounds shy of becoming the second Saluki to ever amass both 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
MACKLIN CLIMBING UP THE RANKS
Cartaesha Macklin crurrently ranks fifth all-time in SIU history with 1,397 career points. She needs 152 points to pass Amy Rakers (1987-1991) for most all-time. Over a 24-game stretch she would need to average 6.3 points per game this season to pass Rakers.
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.
1,000 POINTS-500 REBOUNDS CLUB
With 20 rebounds, Cartaesha Macklin can become the 16th Saluki to score over 1000 points and grab 500 or more rebounds. Macklin would become just the fourth to join the club since the 2001 season, with Dyana Pierre being the most recent member.
She could also become the first Saluki to ever amass 1,400 points, 400 assists, and 500 rebounds in a career. She needs 13 points, 20 rebounds and just six assists to do so.
PIERRE EYES SCHOOL RECORDS
Sue Faber could have some company this year. The 1983 SIU graduate, who scored 1,507 points and snagged 1,014 career rebounds has sat alone atop the 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 forward/center Dyana Pierre needs 38 rebounds to join Faber in that illustrious club, and needs 53 rebounds to pass Faber to become Southern's all-time leading rebounder. The redshirt senior forward passed Amy Rakers to move into third all-time on the SIU rebounding list.
Pierre would become the sixth in Valley history 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)
DYANA'S DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Preseason All-MVC forward Dyana Pierre scored 27 points, tied a career-high with 21 rebounds and blocked two shots in a career-best 43 minutes to lead the Salukis to a 79-70 overtime win over Tennessee St. University Saturday night. She also established a new career-best at the charity stripe, making 9-of-15 attempts to set new career highs in both categories. With her nine made free throws, Pierre moved into 10th all-time in Salukis history with 221.
Pierre's 20-20 game marks just the sixth time in available SIU history that a women's basketball player has recorded 20-plus points and 20-plus rebounds in a single contest, and the second time Pierre has done so in her career. The redshirt senior from Port St. Lucie, Fla. also established a new WNIT record for rebounds in a game, surpassing Courtney Paris's previous record of 20 rebounds set on Nov. 13, 2005 against Southern Methodist University.
PIERRE PASSES THE PILL
Dyana Pierre tallied four assists in the win over Murray State- the most for her since she tallied a carrer-high five against Missouri State during the 2012-13 season. It's just the sixth time in her career that she has tallied three or more assists in a contest.
ASSIST TO TURNOVER RATIO
Southern notched a +9 assist to turnover ratio in the win over Murray State on Dec. 2- the highest for the Salukis since they posted a +15 in a 81-76 win over Drake on February 6, 2015.
RESERVES SEEING THE FLOOR
Junior Kim Nebo and sophomore Celina VanHyfte have both seen an increase in playing time this season, with each recording the first three starts of their collegiate careers. In Nebo's previous 47 career games she tallied five or more rebounds in four contests- in the seven games this season she's grabbed five our more rebounds three times, including six in 13 minutes during the win over SIU-Edwardsville on Friday. VanHyfte has played 15 or more minutes in six of the Salukis' seven games this season, having only played 15 plus minutes in one game during her freshman campaign. The Annawan High School product established a new career-high with 11 points in the win over SIUE Friday, and earlier in the week grabbed a career-best nine rebounds in the victory against Murray State.
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.
TOUGH TO HOLD IN CHECK
Rishonda Napier has only once been held scoreless- 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 Murray State on Dec 2. It marks the 10th time in her career, and fourth time in six games this season that she's totaled four assists or more in a single contest. She currently is 10 assists away from 100 for her career- which would make her the 49th Saluki to ever amass 100 career assists.
CORRIGAN PROVIDES BENCH DEPTH
Carlie Corrigan sits just five rebounds from 100, and 40 points from 200 for her career. She would be the 106th Saluki to tally 100-plus career rebounds.
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.
