Women's Basketball Heads to Missouri State Friday

CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Salukis hit the road to take on the Missouri State Lady Bears in Springfield, Mo. on Friday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m., inside the JQH Arena. Fans can tune into WVZA 105.1 FM starting at 6:40 p.m. for game coverage, while the game can also be viewed on ESPN3.

Scouting the Lady Bears

The Lady Bears have won three-straight games, and seven of their last eight coming into Friday's matchup. Liza Fruendt has led the Lady Bears in scoring 13 times this season, including 22 points in Missouri State's win at Carbondale on Jan. 15. She is averaging 11.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game in five career meetings against the Salukis. While the JQH Arena typically serves as a home court advantage for the Lady Bears given that they draw the second-most fans in the Valley, the home crowd hasn't helped Missouri State as much this season. MSU is just 2-3 at home in conference play this season, and 4-5 overall. In contrast, the Lady Bears sport a perfect 5-0 record in road conference games this season.

All-Time vs. the Lady Bears

The Salukis and the Lady Bears meet for the 79th time in a series that dates back to the 1970-71 season. Southern trails the all-time series, 28-50, but last season snapped a nine game losing streak to Missouri State behind 23 points from Rishonda Napier. SIU's last four wins over the Lady Bears have come at home, as Southern is seeking its first-ever win at the JQH Arena, which opened in 2008. The Salukis last win in Springfield came during the 2006-07 season when Missouri State played at the Hammons Student Center.

Current Salukis vs. the Lady Bears

Rishonda Napier has scored 98 points (16.3/game) in six career meetings against the Lady Bears. She comes into Friday's matchup having scored 20-plus points in two-straight games against Missouri State, and has done so three of the six times she's matched up against the Lady Bears. Kylie Giebelhausen is shooting 38.1% (21-of-55) from the field and averaging 11.2 points per game in five career games against Missouri State. During Coach Stein's tenure as SIU's head coach, the Salukis are shooting 46.3% (77-of-166) from the field at the JQH Arena.

Climbing up the list

Rishonda Napier made her 261st career three-pointer in the win over Northern Iowa. Not only is that the 11th-most three-pointers made by an active DI player, but the Burbank, Calif. native is now tied with Kelsey Woodard (Creighton, 2007-11) and Jacqui Kalin (UNI, 2007-10, 2012-13) for eighth on the Missouri Valley Conference's all-time list. Her next three-pointer will move her into a tie for seventh, while five three-pointers are all that separates the two-time All-MVC selection from the top-five.

5. 265- Jenni Lingor, Missouri St., 2002-05)
6. 263- Kelsey Luna (Indiana St., 2006-10)
7. 262- Jaleshia Roberson (Missouri St., 2008-12)
8. 261- Kelsey Woodard (Creighton, 2007-11)
261- Jacqui Kalin (UNI, 2007-10, 2012-13)
261- Rishonda Napier (SIU, 2012-pres.)

1,600 club

Napier became just the second Saluki to reach 1,600 career points and now has 1,631. She joins conference-foes Lizzy Wendell (2,337 pts) and Sara Dickey (1,965 pts) as the only current players in the Valley to have done so.

Milestones a plenty

Kylie Giebelhausen made her 163rd career three-pointer in the win over Northern Iowa on Sunday, moving past Karrie Redeker for third on SIU's all-time list. The East Peoria, Ill. native dished out her 200th career assist last week, becoming one of only 21 Salukis to dish out 200-plus helpers in a career. She also needs just one block to become the fourth player in school history to block 100-plus shots.

More milestones

Napier needs to dish out seven more assists to become the 3rd Saluki with 400-plus career assists. If and when she hits that mark, she will join D.D. Plab (508) and Cartaesha Macklin (486) as the only Salukis with 400-plus career assists. The two-time All-MVC selection is averaging 4.6 assists per contest this season, second to only Caitlin Ingle in the Valley. If her average holds, it would be the ninth-highest in a single-season in school history, and the most since Stephany Neptune averaged 5.0 assists per game during the 2009-10 season.

Cracking the top-10

Napier is also just three steals shy of cracking the top-10 in school history in that category. She has nabbed three or more steals in 11 games during her career, and in the wins at Bradley (1/27) and Illinois State (1/29) she recorded three steals in back-to-back contests for just the second time in her career.

Comeback Kids

SIU erased a 15-point halftime deficit to defeat the Northern Iowa Panthers, 64-59 on Sunday. It marked the third time this season that the Salukis have rallied to win after trailing by a deficit of 15 points or more. SIU roared back from being down 15 to down the SEMO Redhawks on Dec. 9, and later came back from being down 16 points to stun the UMKC Kangaroos on their home floor. The 2016-17 Salukis are the first team in recorded school history to have overcome three deficits of 15-points or more in the same season.

Shooting at a high percentage

The Salukis shot 52.1% (25-of-48) from the floor in their win over the Northern Iowa Panthers on Feb. 5. It marked the third time this season that SIU has shot 50% or better from the field, and the tenth time during the Cindy Stein era that the Salukis have done so. SIU is 3-0 this season when making at least half of their attempts.

Nine Field Goals to pass Pierre

Napier needs to make nine field goals to pass her former teammate, Dyana Pierre, for seventh on SIU's all time list. The Burbank, Calif. native sits at 573 field goals for her career, as she needs 27 more to become the sixth Saluki to make 600-plus in a career.

Follow the leader

Kylie Giebelhausen scored a team-high 17 points in the win over the Panthers on Feb. 5. The Salukis improved to 4-0 this season when the East Peoria, Ill. native leads the team in scoring.

11 Points Shy of 800

Kylie Giebelhausen sits at 789 career points, needing just 11 to become the 33rd Saluki to reach 800 career points.

Getting Closer

Kylie Giebelhausen leads the league with 56 made three-pointers. Rishonda Napier ranks second, as she has made 55. The duo could become the first pair in school history to make at least 60 three pointers in back-to-back seasons. Last season, Napier finished with the second-most made treys in school history (85), while Giebelhausen made the 10th-most in a single-season (60) to become the first Saluki twosome since Christine Presswood and Teri Olivier in 2009-10 to make 60-plus three-pointers in a season.

Earlier this season, the duo set the school record for most three-pointers made by two players in a single game, as Giebelhausen netted seven treys and Napier added five in the win over Wichita State on Jan. 13.

Coming alive in the second half

The Salukis scored 43 points in the second half of their win over Northern Iowa on Feb. 5, marking the eighth time this season that Southern has scored 40-plus points after halftme. SIU is 8-0 this season when scoring 40-plus second half points.

Getting Buckets in the Paint

The Salukis scored 32 of their 64 points against the Northern Iowa Panthers in the paint. That's the largest percentage (50%) of total points scored in the paint by the Salukis this season, and marks the sixth time that SIU has scored 30-plus points in the paint this season. Southern sports an unblemished 6-0 record when doing so.

Running the floor

Nicole Martin has scored in double figures in two-straight games coming into Friday's tilt. The Jefferson City, Mo. native finished with 11 points, six rebounds, two blocks and a steal against Drake on Feb. 3, and followed that performance with 13 points, three boards and a steal in the win over Northern Iowa. Martin was particularly efficient from the field against the Panthers, as she made five of her six attempts. It marks the first time that the freshman forward/center has reached double figures in back-to-back games.

Cleaning Glass

After notching double-doubles in three-straight games for the first time in her career, Kim Nebo now has 430 career rebounds. She's currently 30th on SIU's all-time list, and eight away from 29th.

Double-Doubles

Kim Nebo has 10 career double-doubles, eight of which have come this season. The Katy, Texas native is one double-double behind Bradley's Leti Lerma for most in the MVC this season.

Uncharted Territory

The Salukis have made 10-plus three-pointers in seven games this season, which included a streak of four-straight games with 10 or more. Both are school records, as SIU's seven games this season with 10-plus three-pointers is more than the previous four seasons combined. Southern has made an average of 7.5 three-pointers per game this season, well above the school record of 6.67 set last year.

During head coach Cindy Stein's 20 seasons as a head coach, her teams, on average, shoot 473.3 three-pointers, making nearly 151.6 per season. Interestingly enough, the 2015-16 Salukis made (220) and attempted (663) the most three-pointers of any Stein helmed team. The 2016-17 squad could break both marks, as they are 166-of-470 (.353) from downtown through 22 games.

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Players Mentioned

Kylie Giebelhausen

Cartaesha Macklin

Nicole Martin

Rishonda Napier

Kim Nebo

Dyana Pierre

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