SIU wins home opener over Murray State

Thursday, November 17

Carbondale, Ill.

6 PM

Southern Illinois University

1-1

Murray State

2-1

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Murray State	17	16	19	11	63
Southern Illinois	16	17	21	16	70

Photo by: Will Becque

11/17/2016 | 10:53:00 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Salukis have now won 12 straight home games over the Racers.

By: Will Becque, SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Kylie Giebelhausen scored a career-high 22 points while Kim Nebo added her third career double-double as the Salukis overcame a nine-point second half deficit to defeat the Murray State Racers, 70-63, Thursday night inside the SIU Arena.

SIU (1-1) trailed by as many as nine, 42-33 with 8:33 to play in the third, but clawed their way back thanks to a 7-0 run that cut the deficit down to two. The Salukis took their first lead of the second half on a three-pointer by Rishonda Napier with :27 remaining in the third quarter and from there built a lead they never surrendered.

Giebelhausen finished with a career-best 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc to go along with six rebounds, two blocks and a pair of steals. Nebo scored a career-high 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, with eight of those points coming off of offensive rebounds.

"The play of Kim Nebo on the glass, getting the put-back late in the game and just being a beast on the boards, was critical," fourth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "Hitting her free throws in key points, that's stuff that last year you didn't know if (Kim) was going to do that or not. But for her to step up and do it tonight, very pleased with her."

The Salukis outrebounded the Racers (2-1), 50-to-41, with SIU collecting 21 offensive rebounds in the win. Southern's reserves outscored (19-to-7) and outrebounded (14-to-6) the Racers bench, with contributions coming from all over.

"It's encouraging that we don't need seniority or upperclassmen to finish and win games- we need everybody," said Giebelhausen. "We're not relying on one person this year. Everybody on the floor can do special things, I think a key thing we did tonight was rely on everyone to do their part, to play their role. I think the bench did really well too."

Tiajaney Hawkins and Olivia Bowling both provided sparks off the bench when the Salukis needed them most. Hawkins scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds, including three offensive boards, in just over 10 minutes of play, while Bowling finished with eight points in 15 minutes.

It wasn't just about scoring coming off the bench, as one of the best plays of the night came from Brittney Patrick. With the Salukis down three late in the third quarter, the five-foot-five guard planted her feet and took a charge to give the ball right back to the Salukis.

"It's just different kids making plays," Stein remarked about her bench. "Weather its Brittney Patrick picking up that charge and killing momentum on a fast break or Tiajaney coming in and getting some great put backs. Olivia Bowling stats don't show it as much, but her defense. She really came in and was a very defensive presence. Those are the things we are looking for."

SIU shot 36.2 percent (25-of-69) from the field, including 7-of-20 (35.0%) from beyond the arc, and forced 12 turnovers. The contest featured five ties and 14 lead changes.

The Salukis are back in action Sunday, Nov. 20, when they travel to West Lafayette, Ind. to take on the Purdue Boilermakers. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. CST.