Southern Illinois University
6-5
South Dakota
11-2
Salukis close non-conference schedule with loss to Coyotes
12/20/2016 | 4:34:00 | Women's Basketball
KANSAS CITY – The Southern Illinois women's basketball team finished the non-conference portion of its schedule Tuesday afternoon with a 68-57 loss to the South Dakota Coyotes in the Roo Holiday Classic inside the Swinney Recreation Center.
The Salukis trailed by as many as 19 in the first half, but once again cut the deficit in half early in the second half. However, the Coyotes (11-2) were not to be denied, as they seemingly had an answer each time Southern cut the deficit down to single digits.
Rishonda Napier scored 16 points for the second-straight game to earn All-Tournament team honors. Kim Nebo also earned All-Tournament honors after averaging 11.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per contest during the two-day tourney. The Katy, Texas native scored nine points and grabbed seven boards against the Coyotes, while Kylie Giebelhausen set a new career high with seven assists and Lauren Hartman chipped in a career-best nine points.
SIU won the second half for the second straight game, as they outscored South Dakota, 38-31. But the Salukis were undone by their slow start, as the reigning WNIT champs opened the contest on a 12-0 run and never trailed.
"They are a very good ball club and I felt like we did some really good things against them," fourth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "But that first half just killed us. We were out of sync right from the get-go."
The Salukis got to within nine late in the game, as a three-pointer by Napier made it 61-52 with 5:35 to play in regulation. The Dawgs had a chance on their next possession to get to within seven, but were whistled for a charge. The Coyotes promptly pushed their advantage back to 13 with six unanswered points to put the game out of reach.
SIU concludes non-conference play with a 6-5 record, making it three-straight seasons under Coach Stein that the Salukis have finished the non-conference portion of their schedule with a .500 or better record. It is the longest such streak for Southern since 1993-96.
The Salukis played one of the toughest non-conference slates in recent memory, giving SIU's underclassmen plenty of chances to learn by doing against five opponents who played postseason a year ago, including the Coyotes.
"South Dakota plays a lot like Northern Iowa and Drake, you have to get out and defend shooters," Stein said. "I think this game is going to make us better. This whole non-conference schedule has been a really good focus point for us to get better as a team and we will continue to do so."
Napier sank a pair of free throws Tuesday to push her consecutive made streak to 30. It ties her with Karly Buer (Missouri State, 2011-12) and Catie O'Leary (Bradley, 2012-13) for the 14th longest streak in Missouri Valley Conference history.
The Salukis return to action on Friday, Dec. 30 when they host the Loyola Ramblers to kick off MVC play. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
