Salukis Accept Bid to WBI; face Leathernecks Thursday

March 14, 2016

By: Will Becque
SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois women's basketball team has accepted a bid to play in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) and will travel to Macomb, Ill., to take on Western Illinois Thursday at 7 p.m. on LeRoy A. Ufkes Court at Western Hall.

The game is a rivalry renewed for the two Illinois state schools, as the two programs have played 42 times since 1963 but haven't met on the hardwood since 1992. The Salukis boast a 35-7 all-time record against their in-state counterparts.

SIU will compete in the postseason for the seventh time in school history and make their first appearance in a postseason tournament since 2007.

Southern Illinois (20-12, 12-6 MVC) enters the postseason event having reached the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament for the first time since 1997 after knocking off Loyola in the quarterfinals.

The MVC regular-season champions, the UNI Panthers, eliminated the Salukis from the tournament.

"We're excited for the opportunity to play in the WBI," said SIU head coach Cindy Stein. "We have planned and budgeted all year for the opportunity to play in the postseason."

Western Illinois enters the WBI with a 15-15 overall record after falling 68-55 in the first round of the Summit League Tournament to Oral Roberts.

The tournament marks the sixth national postseason tournament berth for the Leatherneck women's basketball program, and their first since 2006.

SIU is led by its three All-MVC First-Team selections, Cartaesha Macklin, Dyana Pierre and Rishonda Napier. Macklin comes into the WBI averaging 13.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, while Pierre led the MVC in rebounding for the fourth-straight season and was also named to the MVC All-Defensive Team.

Napier paces the Salukis in scoring with 14.9 points and 3.5 assists per game. Napier also ranks second in the conference with an 82.7% free throw percentage.

Western Illinois is led in scoring by Sophie Reichelt, averaging 15.4 points per game. Reichelt ranks sixth in the Summit League in scoring.

Should SIU advance, the Salukis would face the winner of Northern Kentucky/USC Upstate.

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Players Mentioned

Cartaesha Macklin

Rishonda Napier

Dyana Pierre

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Southern Illinoise University Athletics