Women's Basketball hosts Lindenwood-Belleville Friday for final exhibition tune-up

CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Saluki women's basketball team will close out its 2017-18 preseason on Friday, Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. as National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) member Lindenwood-Belleville visits the SIU Arena for the final exhibition contest of the season.

For Starters

Senior guard Kylie Giebelhausen returns to a lead a young Saluki squad that will feature three freshmen, six sophomores, two juniors and two seniors. Giebelhausen finished the season ranked in the top-10 of the Missouri Valley Conference in six statistical categories en route to earning All-MVC First Team honors.

The Opponent

A member of the American Midwest Conference (AMC), the Lynx were picked to finish fourth in the AMC Preseason Coaches Poll.

Lindenwood-Belleville went 22-10 a year ago and 18-6 in conference play. The Lynx advanced to the NAIA Division I tournament, where they lost to Vanguard (Calif.), 66-59, in the first round.

The Lynx return their leading scorer and rebounder from last year's team. Brianna Mueller returns after a freshman campaign in which she led Lindenwood-Belleville in scoring with a 15.5 points per game average and was named to the All-AMC First Team as well as NAIA Honorable Mention All-American, while Alison Webb earned a spot on the All-AMC Second Team after she led the Lynx with a 9.6 rebounds per game average.

MVC Preseason Poll

The Salukis were picked to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll. Defending MVC champion Drake was projected to finish first, followed by Missouri State. Northern Iowa, SIU and Indiana State rounded out the top-five. It marks the third-straight season that SIU has been picked fourth in the annual poll, and the first time since the 1995-98 seasons that Southern has been picked in the top-four in three-consecutive seasons.

Stein in Exhibitions

• The Salukis have won six-straight exhibition contests under head coach Cindy Stein.
• In SIU's exhibition opening win over Kentucky Wesleyan on Oct. 28, 9 of 10 Salukis scored at least two points in the win, with all three freshmen playing at least 15 minutes. Kylie Giebelhausen finished with a game-high 22 points, including a perfect 5-for-5 shooting from the floor in the second half.

Preseason Accolades

• Kylie Giebelhausen- 2017 Preseason All-MVC selection.

Record Watch in 2017-18

• Kylie Giebelhausen begins the 2017-18 season 62 points shy of becoming the 25th Saluki to score 1,000 career points.
• The Salukis next regular season win will be the 700th in the program's recorded history.
• Giebelhausen is 11 three-pointers shy of becoming the third Saluki to make 200-plus in a career. She needs 89 to break Rishonda Napier's school record of 277. Giebelhausen's 82 treys a year ago were the 22nd-most in a single season in MVC history.
• Giebelhausen is 45 blocks shy of passing CiCi Shannon for second and 58 from breaking Dyana Pierre's school record of 162.

Captains

Kylie Giebelhausen and Ashley Hummel will serve as captains for the 2017-18 Salukis.

Non-Conference Slate

The 2017-18 Southern Illinois women's basketball team will play an 11-game non-conference schedule that features four teams that made the postseason a year ago. SIU plays four home non-conference games this season, beginning on Nov. 10 when it hosts UT Martin for the season opener. The Salukis will conclude their non-conference schedule at the San Juan tournament, which will mark the program's fourth international trip and first since 2008.

Ticket Packages

Season tickets, mini plans and single-game tickets for the 2017-18 season are available now at the SIU ticket office by calling at 1-877-SALUKIS and online by clicking here.

Follow Us

The official Twitter of Saluki women's basketball is @SIU_WBasketball. Fans are encouraged to follow for in-game updates as well as team news. For coverage of all of SIU's teams, follow @SIUSalukis.

Calendar

Upcoming Events