Southern Illinois University
19-9, 12-4MVC
Indiana State
13-14, 9-7MVC
Women's Basketball Grinds Out Sixth-Straight Win
02/28/2016 | 12:00:00 | Women's Basketball
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Southern Illinois women's basketball team equaled its longest winning streak of the Cindy Stein era, grinding out its sixth-straight victory with a 62-58 win over the Indiana State Sycamores Sunday inside the Hulman Center.
With the win over the Sycamores (13-14, 9-7 MVC), the Salukis (19-9, 12-4 MVC) clinch a top-four seed in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. Southern trailed by nine points mid-way through the third quarter, but freshman Olivia Bowling came off the bench to spark a 7-0 run that ignited the Salukis and gave momentum back to the visitors.
"[Bowling] came in and gave us great minutes," said SIU head coach Cindy Stein. "Its kids like that that have been stepping up and doing a great job for us that have helped us secure a lot of wins."
Bowling finished with two points, two rebounds and an assist in four minutes off the bench, but the Salukis outscored the Sycamores, 7-2 during the four minutes the Elizabethtown, Ky., native was on the floor.
"We had to find a way to grind it out," said Stein. "We weren't playing real well. We were really nervous. Our kids were really nervous. This is part of the process that we've been trying to talk to them about. How you handle those nerves."
Cartaesha Macklin led all scorers with 21 points, scoring 10 of those points in the third quarter to help set SIU up for a showdown with MVC-leading UNI on Thursday and second-place Drake on Saturday. Southern controls its own destiny, with wins over both teams giving SIU its first regular-season title since 2006-07. The significance of the two games isn't lost on Macklin and the Salukis.
"The meaning is going to be in the action," said Macklin. "Just going out and playing and how much this means to everybody- to the fans, to the community, to the program. This is our last home stand. We will be playing in front of some family. It's the last time we will play in front of our fans. We're going to put our everything into these games."
Dyana Pierre notched her 51st career double-double despite picking up her fourth foul early in the second half, tallying 11 points, 14 boards and two blocks. Rishonda Napier added 16 points, and went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe down the stretch to help seal the win for Southern.
"Nothing is going to come easy from here on out," said Macklin. "We knew that, but just being able to finish a game, and finish it strong, was really important."
The Sycamores used a 14-0 run to take a 47-38 lead with :29 seconds to play in the third quarter before Celina VanHyfte halted the run with a layup to get Southern to within seven at the end of the quarter.
Bowling sparked a 7-0 run in the fourth by hitting a corner two, then led the break on SIU's next possession finding Kylie Giebelhausen underneath to tie the score, 51-51.
The Salukis took their first lead of the fourth quarter when Macklin drew contact on an offensive rebound off a Pierre miss with 1:54 remaining, and made the second freebie to give SIU a 54-53 lead. Pierre added a turnaround jumper to put Southern ahead, 56-53 with :49.6 to play, and Napier sank six consecutive free throws to seal the win.
Southern will host UNI on Thursday, March 3 before celebrating Senior Day, as SIU will honor Pierre, Macklin, Azia Washington and Blair Stephenson following the game against the Drake Bulldogs. The Missouri Valley Conference Tournament is slated for March 10-13, and will be played for the first time at the iWireless Center in Moline, Ill.
