Southern Illinois University
7-7, 1-2
Northern Iowa
10-4, 3-0
Third quarter surge sends UNI past SIU, 79-49
01/06/2017 | 10:57:00 | Women's Basketball
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Northern Iowa Panthers used a strong third-quarter to defeat the Southern Illinois Salukis, 79-49 Friday evening at the McLeod Center.
The Salukis (7-7, 1-2 MVC) opened the contest on a 8-0 run, but the Panthers recovered to take a two point lead at the end of the first. The two sides battled throughout the second quarter, as UNI held a 30-24 lead into the half. The Panthers found their rhythm in a third quarter in which they outscored the Salukis, 31-10, and shot 68.8% from the floor (11-for-16).
"We did not start the third quarter with as much energy and passion as we needed to play with," fourth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "Very disappointed in our starting group."
The challenge of overcoming a six-point halftime deficit to the conference-leading Panthers (10-4, 3-0 MVC) was made all the more difficult when SIU's leading scorer Rishonda Napier was overcome by a stomach virus and was unable to play for most of the second half.
"We had Rishonda throwing up at the half, and that makes it tough," Stein said. "We try to get our kids to focus on other stuff, and to overcome any kind of adversity. That's not an excuse, we have to be better at handling that kind of stuff.."
Napier played just six minutes in the second half, and the Saluki offense struggled without their floor general. She did manage to score her 1,500th career point, becoming the fifth Saluki to do so, and tied Teri Oliver's school record of 235 career three-pointers.
Napier's preseason All-MVC counterpart Madison Weekly shot 50% from the floor, as she converted on 8-of-16 attempts for a game-high 24 points. Weekly was one of three Panthers to score in double figures.
The Salukis were led by Nicole Martin, who just missed setting a career-high for points. The freshman from Jefferson City, Mo. tallied 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Fellow freshman Lauren Hartman chipped in seven points and six rebounds while Kylie Giebelhausen had seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Southern held a potent UNI offense to just 36.4% shooting, but were undone by their turnovers. SIU turned the ball over 20 times, and the Panthers capitalized, as they scored 30 points off of turnovers.
SIU will look to get back to its winning ways when it travels to Drake University on Sunday to take on the Bulldogs. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
