Sunday, December 10
Carbondale, IL
2 PM
Southern Illinois University
5-4
49
vs
75
Western Kentucky University
5-3
1
2
3
4
F
Western Kentucky
21
17
24
13
75
Southern Illinois
18
12
8
11
49
Photo by: Madison Case
Third-Quarter Surge Propels Western Kentucky past Southern Illinois
12/10/2017 | 5:39:00 | Women's Basketball
WKU connected on its first eight shots of the third quarter.
CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Western Kentucky Lady Toppers (5-3) used a strong third-quarter to defeat the Southern Illinois Salukis, 75-49 Sunday afternoon inside SIU Arena.
The Salukis (5-4) trailed by eight at the half and were within striking distance, but the Lady Toppers opened the third quarter on a 16-1 run to build a 23-point advantage. Western Kentucky (5-3) connected on their first eight shots in the third quarter, including 4-of-4 from three-point range.
"(Western Kentucky) started out the third quarter extremely hot," fifth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "I felt like we had hands in their faces, but they were knocking them down. There aren't a lot of people who can shoot like that. You gotta give Western Kentucky the credit. They stepped up, knocked shots down and made it very hard for us to get back into it."
Ivy Brown did most of the heavy lifting in the third quarter for the Lady Toppers, as she was 6-for-6 from the field in the frame, which included all four of WKU's third quarter treys. She finished with 20 points and six boards.
The Salukis were led by Kylie Giebelhausen, who tallied 10 points to go along with four rebounds. Makenzie Silvey added nine points off the bench as she helped SIU tie it's season-high for bench points with 27.
The Lady Toppers used their significant size advantage and considerable length to torment the Salukis early, as they came out in a press from the get-go and forced eight Saluki turnovers in the first quarter.
"We knew they were going to press coming into the game," Giebelhausen said. "We just had to see it a little bit. I know we turned the ball over a couple of times but we had to experience it to figure out what was open and what wasn't and what passes we could get away with and what they could steal. They were very long and had active arms and hands."
SIU turned the ball over just once in the second quarter, and cut it's deficit to five, 35-30 on a jumper by Silvey with 1:52 remaining in the first half. Southern collected a rebound off a Western Kentucky miss and immediately called a timeout in the hopes of cutting into WKU's lead further but was unable to convert. The Lady Toppers capitalized with a three-ball to push it's lead to eight at the half.
Southern further adjusted to Western Kentucky's defensive pressure in the second half, as they turned the ball over just six times. The Salukis were undone by their inability to make shots in the second half, as SIU shot 31.8% (7-for-22) from the floor and were 0-of-8 from three-point range in the half.
"I felt like we handled their press," Stein said. "For us to be pressed the entire game and only have 15 turnovers, that's outstanding. So we got better in that category. But I felt like we weren't real confident shooters in the second half. Sometimes we had wide open looks and we couldn't get them to go down. When you're working that hard defensively, that is sometimes what happens on offense."
Brown drained three-straight three-pointers to open the second half and the Lady Toppers led by 17, 47-30 after just two minutes. WKU didn't miss a shot in the third quarter until the three-minute mark and built a lead that proved insurmountable.
The Salukis are off until Dec. 19, when they travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico to take on another NCAA Tournament team from a year ago in the University of Albany. Tip-off against the Great Danes is set for 1 p.m. (CT).
The Salukis (5-4) trailed by eight at the half and were within striking distance, but the Lady Toppers opened the third quarter on a 16-1 run to build a 23-point advantage. Western Kentucky (5-3) connected on their first eight shots in the third quarter, including 4-of-4 from three-point range.
"(Western Kentucky) started out the third quarter extremely hot," fifth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "I felt like we had hands in their faces, but they were knocking them down. There aren't a lot of people who can shoot like that. You gotta give Western Kentucky the credit. They stepped up, knocked shots down and made it very hard for us to get back into it."
Ivy Brown did most of the heavy lifting in the third quarter for the Lady Toppers, as she was 6-for-6 from the field in the frame, which included all four of WKU's third quarter treys. She finished with 20 points and six boards.
The Salukis were led by Kylie Giebelhausen, who tallied 10 points to go along with four rebounds. Makenzie Silvey added nine points off the bench as she helped SIU tie it's season-high for bench points with 27.
The Lady Toppers used their significant size advantage and considerable length to torment the Salukis early, as they came out in a press from the get-go and forced eight Saluki turnovers in the first quarter.
"We knew they were going to press coming into the game," Giebelhausen said. "We just had to see it a little bit. I know we turned the ball over a couple of times but we had to experience it to figure out what was open and what wasn't and what passes we could get away with and what they could steal. They were very long and had active arms and hands."
SIU turned the ball over just once in the second quarter, and cut it's deficit to five, 35-30 on a jumper by Silvey with 1:52 remaining in the first half. Southern collected a rebound off a Western Kentucky miss and immediately called a timeout in the hopes of cutting into WKU's lead further but was unable to convert. The Lady Toppers capitalized with a three-ball to push it's lead to eight at the half.
Southern further adjusted to Western Kentucky's defensive pressure in the second half, as they turned the ball over just six times. The Salukis were undone by their inability to make shots in the second half, as SIU shot 31.8% (7-for-22) from the floor and were 0-of-8 from three-point range in the half.
"I felt like we handled their press," Stein said. "For us to be pressed the entire game and only have 15 turnovers, that's outstanding. So we got better in that category. But I felt like we weren't real confident shooters in the second half. Sometimes we had wide open looks and we couldn't get them to go down. When you're working that hard defensively, that is sometimes what happens on offense."
Brown drained three-straight three-pointers to open the second half and the Lady Toppers led by 17, 47-30 after just two minutes. WKU didn't miss a shot in the third quarter until the three-minute mark and built a lead that proved insurmountable.
The Salukis are off until Dec. 19, when they travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico to take on another NCAA Tournament team from a year ago in the University of Albany. Tip-off against the Great Danes is set for 1 p.m. (CT).
Team Stats
WKU
SIU
FG%
.448
.353
3FG%
.615
.150
FT%
.789
.625
RB
42
29
TO
16
15
STL
10
7
Game Leaders
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
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