Friday, January 27
Peoria, ILL.
7 PM
Southern Illinois University
9-10, 3-5MVC
66
at
57
Bradley
6-13, 2-6MVC
1
2
3
4
F
Southern Illinois
11
14
19
22
66
Bradley
16
14
13
14
57
Photo by: Will Becque
Strong second half propels SIU to 66-57 win over Bradley
01/27/2017 | 9:35:00 | Women's Basketball
PEORIA, Ill. – The Southern Illinois women's basketball team used a strong third quarter on its way to a 66-57 victory over the Bradley Braves Friday night at Renaissance Coliseum.
With the win, the Salukis improve to 9-10 and 3-5 in MVC play, and have now won five-straight over the Braves. Bradley falls to 6-13, 2-6 MVC with the loss.
"I was very pleased with our energy," fourth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "That's the biggest thing we have been talking about with our team is playing with great energy. I would say in the first half we played with so much energy that we didn't know how to control it. That's where we need to get better. We need to play with that much energy every day so that we can get use to it. But what I'm most proud of is that we won the game playing really good defense."
The Salukis trailed for the entirety of the first half, as they trailed by five at the half. Southern came out of the locker room after the break with a purpose, led by their two-time All-MVC selection, Rishonda Napier. Napier scored Southern's first 13 points of the third quarter, as she connected on her first four three-pointers of the second half.
"I was just trying to stay composed and trying to control the tempo of the game a little bit better," Napier said. "That was my main focus. I was just trying to keep my troops in line and keep executing the game plan. I wasn't really worried about scoring, per say, I was just trying to get everyone involved. The ball just found me."
The Burbank, Calif. native shot 7-for-17 from the floor, which included 4-of-9 from behind the arc and also dished out seven assists. With her four three-pointers Friday night, Napier became just the 13th player in Missouri Valley Conference history with 250-plus career three-pointers, and she's now 12th on the conference's all-time list with 252.
Coach Stein knew coming out of the locker room at halftime that her floor general was primed for a big second half.
"Rishonda plays with a lot of passion and you could tell she desperately wanted to put us on her shoulders today and make a difference," Stein said. "She definitely had an impactful game."
Kylie Giebelhausen, playing in front of her hometown fans, finished with 12 points and four rebounds, with 10 of her 12 points coming in the second half while Nicole Martin chipped in nine points and five boards.
Kristen Nelson was a key off the bench for the Salukis, as she finished the contest with seven points, five assists, three rebounds and added a block and a steal.
The Salukis outscored the Braves, 41-27 in the second half and closed the game with a 7-0 run after Bradley made it a one-possession game, 59-57 with 1:48 remaining. Southern again got a timely bucket from Napier, who picked off Bradley's inbound pass and laid it in to squash any chance of a Braves comeback.
For the game, Southern limited Bradley to just 37.5% (24-of-64) shooting from the floor, including just 7.7% (1-of-13) shooting from three-point range.
The Salukis are back in action on Sunday, Jan. 29 when they travel to Illinois State to take on the Redbirds. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
With the win, the Salukis improve to 9-10 and 3-5 in MVC play, and have now won five-straight over the Braves. Bradley falls to 6-13, 2-6 MVC with the loss.
"I was very pleased with our energy," fourth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "That's the biggest thing we have been talking about with our team is playing with great energy. I would say in the first half we played with so much energy that we didn't know how to control it. That's where we need to get better. We need to play with that much energy every day so that we can get use to it. But what I'm most proud of is that we won the game playing really good defense."
The Salukis trailed for the entirety of the first half, as they trailed by five at the half. Southern came out of the locker room after the break with a purpose, led by their two-time All-MVC selection, Rishonda Napier. Napier scored Southern's first 13 points of the third quarter, as she connected on her first four three-pointers of the second half.
"I was just trying to stay composed and trying to control the tempo of the game a little bit better," Napier said. "That was my main focus. I was just trying to keep my troops in line and keep executing the game plan. I wasn't really worried about scoring, per say, I was just trying to get everyone involved. The ball just found me."
The Burbank, Calif. native shot 7-for-17 from the floor, which included 4-of-9 from behind the arc and also dished out seven assists. With her four three-pointers Friday night, Napier became just the 13th player in Missouri Valley Conference history with 250-plus career three-pointers, and she's now 12th on the conference's all-time list with 252.
Coach Stein knew coming out of the locker room at halftime that her floor general was primed for a big second half.
"Rishonda plays with a lot of passion and you could tell she desperately wanted to put us on her shoulders today and make a difference," Stein said. "She definitely had an impactful game."
Kylie Giebelhausen, playing in front of her hometown fans, finished with 12 points and four rebounds, with 10 of her 12 points coming in the second half while Nicole Martin chipped in nine points and five boards.
Kristen Nelson was a key off the bench for the Salukis, as she finished the contest with seven points, five assists, three rebounds and added a block and a steal.
The Salukis outscored the Braves, 41-27 in the second half and closed the game with a 7-0 run after Bradley made it a one-possession game, 59-57 with 1:48 remaining. Southern again got a timely bucket from Napier, who picked off Bradley's inbound pass and laid it in to squash any chance of a Braves comeback.
For the game, Southern limited Bradley to just 37.5% (24-of-64) shooting from the floor, including just 7.7% (1-of-13) shooting from three-point range.
The Salukis are back in action on Sunday, Jan. 29 when they travel to Illinois State to take on the Redbirds. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
Team Stats
SIU
BRAD
FG%
.419
.375
3FG%
.333
.077
FT%
.778
.500
RB
31
48
TO
14
18
STL
10
10
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballPG
/ Women's Basketball
G
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