Southern Illinois University
Evansville
Women's Basketball to Play 4 Kay on Friday
02/13/2017 | 4:16:00 | Women's Basketball
Salukis host the Evansville Purple Aces on Feb. 17 at 6 p.m.
CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Southern Illinois women's basketball team will host the Evansville Purple Aces at 6 p.m. Friday for its Play 4 Kay game. The first 150 fans will receive free t-shirts, while the SIU Arena will be decorated in pink with special signs available for fans wishing to show their support. Those in attendance are also encouraged to wear pink.
The "Play for Kay" initiative honors longtime North Carolina State women's basketball coach Kay Yow. The "pink phenomenon" in women's basketball began during the 2004-05 season, when Coach Yow's cancer recurred after being in remission for 17 years. Yow passed away on Jan. 24, 2009 after facing her third bout with the disease. She is one of only three women's basketball coaches in NCAA DI history to coach 1,000 games at one institution.
All female cancer survivors, as well as those still afflicted with the disease, are invited to come down to the court for a special introduction during the starting lineups. Please call 618-453-5153 for further details.
Southern Illinois (12-12, 6-7 MVC) comes into Friday's contest following their first win at Wichita State since the 2007-08 season. The Salukis once again overcame a double-digit deficit, erasing a 10-point Shocker lead over the final 12 minutes of play to pull out the victory.
Rishonda Napier and Kylie Giebelhausen both rank in the top-10 in the Missouri Valley Conference in multiple categories including scoring. Napier is seventh in the league with a 14.0 points per game average, while Giebelhausen is eighth at 13.3 ppg.
The duo can also light up the scoreboard from three-point range, as they rank 1-2 in the conference in three-pointers made per game. Giebelhausen averages 2.6 three-pointers per game to lead the Valley, while Napier sits at 2.5 per game. Napier recently cracked the top-5 in Missouri Valley Conference history for three-pointers made, and needs just one 3-ball Friday to move into fourth all-time.
Evansville enters the game with an 8-16 overall record and 3-10 in conference play. The Purple Aces have lost six in a row, with their last win coming against the Salukis on Jan. 22. Evansville has its own scoring tandem in Camary Williams and Sara Dickey. Williams ranks fifth in the Valley in scoring at 14.8 ppg, while Dickey is sixth at 14.1 ppg.
Tickets are on sale now at 877-SALUKIS or SIUSalukis.com.
