Southern Illinois University
13-8 (6-3)
Illinois State
5-15 (3-6)
Women's Basketball knocks off Illinois State, 76-71
01/31/2016 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Senior forward Azia Washington recorded her first double-double of the season and was one of four Southern Illinois players in double-figures as the Salukis knocked off Illinois State, 76-71, Sunday inside the SIU Arena.
The Salukis (13-8, 6-3 MVC) complete the weekend sweep of Indiana State and Illinois State (5-15, 3-6 MVC) for the first time since the 1996-97 season. Washington, who is coming off offseason knee surgery, scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 26 minutes, posting season-highs in all three. The double-double is the Lee's Summit, Mo. native's first since March 13, 2015 and ninth of her career.
"I haven't been playing like this this whole season since coming back from my knee injury," said Washington. "I feel the best that I've felt since surgery and even last year with my treatment and everything."
Southern used a short rotation for most of the contest, as it leaned on its starters, getting a full 40 minutes from sophomore guard Kylie Giebelhausen and 39 minutes from redshirt junior guard Rishonda Napier.
"I played all of [the game]," said Giebelhausen. "It's kind of an adrenaline rush. If I have more energy I can keep going. It's just that mindset that kept me in. We had other players come off the bench and start stepping up and making shot sand making stops. That's easy to play with and easy to keep playing with without the energy being brought down."
Giebelhausen rewarded her coach by tallying 13 points, four boards, four assists, four steals and three blocks. Napier added a game-high 17 points, six assists and two steals while junior forward Kim Nebo chipped in 10 points and five rebounds in 25 minutes of play.
The Salukis shot 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the field, including 8-of-17 (47.1%) from beyond the arc, and tied the Redbirds, 36-to-36 on the glass, despite missing their leading rebounder, Dyana Pierre for the second-straight contest.
"This game was interesting to me," said SIU head coach Cindy Stein. "I felt like I had to coach a lot because we weren't doing a lot of things right. I felt like I was back to my first year here. We had a lot of breakdowns fundamentally. I feel fortunate that we won not playing the type of basketball that we want to play. We did have a lot of kids gut it out. Azia Washington came up big. We made stops when we needed to. I just felt like we weren't very sharp, but I guess you've got to credit Illinois State. When you don't play sharp against an opponent you have to give them the credit because they did something right to make that happen."
Illinois State led 21-16 with :45 seconds remaining in the first quarter before a Saluki timeout setup a three for junior guard Carlie Corrigan to draw SIU to within two. The three sparked a 14-0 run through the first 4:50 of the second quarter that gave Southern a 30-21 lead with 5:10 to play in the first half. The Redbirds retaliated with a 7-0 run of their own to get to within two, before a layup by Washington and Corrigan's second three-pointer put the Salukis ahead 35-28 at the break.
The third quarter was a back and forth affair, as Illinois State was able to cut its deficit down to four, 37-33 with 8:27 left in the period. Southern got back-to-back defensive stops courtesy of a block and steal from Napier that allowed the home team to extend its advantage to 10, 45-35, on a Nebo layup. The Salukis led by as many as 16 points (2:53, 4th quarter), but the Redbirds were able to cut to within six, 70-64, with :46 left. That's when Southern's clutch free-throw shooting put the game away for the Salukis, as they went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe to close out the contest and seal the win.
Illinois State was led by Shakeela Fowler's 15 points and four rebounds.
Southern Illinois returns to action on Friday when it travels to Chicago, Ill. to take on the Loyola Ramblers. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on ESPN3.
