Monday, December 19
Kansas City, MO.
3 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
6-4
77
at
69
UMKC
5-5
1
2
3
4
F
Southern Illinois
12
11
24
30
77
UMKC
18
19
18
14
69
Photo by: Will Becque
Saluki Women’s Basketball erases 16-point deficit to stun UMKC, 77-69
12/19/2016 | 6:53:00 | Women's Basketball
SIU outscored UMKC, 54-32 in the second half.
KANSAS CITY – The Southern Illinois women's basketball team erased a 16-point third quarter deficit to stun the UMKC Kangaroos, 77-69 Monday evening inside the Swinney Recreation Center.
The Kangaroos (5-5) went ahead 39-23 with 9:31 remaining in the third quarter, but the Salukis cut the deficit in half by the end of the third, and completed the comeback by outscoring the hosts, 30-14 in the fourth quarter.
"We showed a lot of heart and then we were able to close the deal," said fourth-year head coach Cindy Stein. "I felt like our kids played really hard. No one was satisfied with the way we played in the first half."
Southern shot just 34.5% from the field in the opening half, including just 25% (3-of-12) from three-point range. Rishonda Napier was stuck in a slump of her own, as she started the contest 0-of-9 from the field and missed her first five three-point attempts.
But the preseason All-MVC selection caught fire in the second half, as she shot 5-of-8 from the field, which included 4-of-6 from downtown for 16 points. She also snagged five rebounds during the half and dished out three assists.
Napier credited her teammates for her reversal of fortune.
"It was my teammates, in particular Tiajaney Hawkins and Olivia Bowling," said Napier. "I was getting on myself in the locker room and Tiajaney told me, 'Stop. You got this. We know what you can do.' And when we got back on the court to warm up for the second half, Olivia just came up to me and gave me a big hug and said, 'hey, you're a better shooter than this. We all know this. Just relax and let it fly.' Their words of encouragement stuck with me throughout the whole second half and I was better because of them."
And while Napier led the charge, it was a complete team effort for the Salukis. Kim Nebo notched her fifth career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Kylie Giebelhausen narrowly missed a double-double of her own, as she finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
"You have to battle back as a team, and I thought we had a tremendous amount of balance in our attack with a lot of kids stepping up at different times to make a difference," said Stein.
Kristen Nelson, who made her first career start, finished with nine points on 3-for-3 shooting from three-point range. She made one of the biggest shots of her young career, as she banked a three from the wing to tie the contest, 64-64 with 3:33 remaining in regulation.
"Kris Nelson is a perfect example of why you have to stay ready," said Napier. "She wasn't getting the minutes she wanted earlier in the season, but she kept her head up. She kept working hard and stayed true to herself. Today she came up big and that's a product of her resilience."
Fellow freshman Nicole Martin finished with eight points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor to go along with four rebounds and two blocks, while Hawkins finished with six points, three assists and two steals in 21 minutes.
The Salukis finished the contest shooting 46.7% (28-of-60), doing so on the strength of a fourth quarter in which Southern made 9-of-13 shots, and held the Kangaroos to 35.7% shooting (5-of-14) during that stretch to seal the win.
SIU closes out play at the UMKC Tournament tomorrow, Dec. 20, when they take on the defending WNIT Champion South Dakota Coyotes at 1 p.m.
The Kangaroos (5-5) went ahead 39-23 with 9:31 remaining in the third quarter, but the Salukis cut the deficit in half by the end of the third, and completed the comeback by outscoring the hosts, 30-14 in the fourth quarter.
"We showed a lot of heart and then we were able to close the deal," said fourth-year head coach Cindy Stein. "I felt like our kids played really hard. No one was satisfied with the way we played in the first half."
Southern shot just 34.5% from the field in the opening half, including just 25% (3-of-12) from three-point range. Rishonda Napier was stuck in a slump of her own, as she started the contest 0-of-9 from the field and missed her first five three-point attempts.
But the preseason All-MVC selection caught fire in the second half, as she shot 5-of-8 from the field, which included 4-of-6 from downtown for 16 points. She also snagged five rebounds during the half and dished out three assists.
Napier credited her teammates for her reversal of fortune.
"It was my teammates, in particular Tiajaney Hawkins and Olivia Bowling," said Napier. "I was getting on myself in the locker room and Tiajaney told me, 'Stop. You got this. We know what you can do.' And when we got back on the court to warm up for the second half, Olivia just came up to me and gave me a big hug and said, 'hey, you're a better shooter than this. We all know this. Just relax and let it fly.' Their words of encouragement stuck with me throughout the whole second half and I was better because of them."
And while Napier led the charge, it was a complete team effort for the Salukis. Kim Nebo notched her fifth career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Kylie Giebelhausen narrowly missed a double-double of her own, as she finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
"You have to battle back as a team, and I thought we had a tremendous amount of balance in our attack with a lot of kids stepping up at different times to make a difference," said Stein.
Kristen Nelson, who made her first career start, finished with nine points on 3-for-3 shooting from three-point range. She made one of the biggest shots of her young career, as she banked a three from the wing to tie the contest, 64-64 with 3:33 remaining in regulation.
"Kris Nelson is a perfect example of why you have to stay ready," said Napier. "She wasn't getting the minutes she wanted earlier in the season, but she kept her head up. She kept working hard and stayed true to herself. Today she came up big and that's a product of her resilience."
Fellow freshman Nicole Martin finished with eight points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor to go along with four rebounds and two blocks, while Hawkins finished with six points, three assists and two steals in 21 minutes.
The Salukis finished the contest shooting 46.7% (28-of-60), doing so on the strength of a fourth quarter in which Southern made 9-of-13 shots, and held the Kangaroos to 35.7% shooting (5-of-14) during that stretch to seal the win.
SIU closes out play at the UMKC Tournament tomorrow, Dec. 20, when they take on the defending WNIT Champion South Dakota Coyotes at 1 p.m.
Team Stats
SIU
UMKC
FG%
.467
.429
3FG%
.500
.333
FT%
.714
.900
RB
38
29
TO
12
10
STL
5
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballPG
/ Women's BasketballG
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