Women's Basketball opens 2018-19 season at UT Martin on Friday

The Southern Illinois Salukis open their 60th season of competition on Friday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. (C.T.) against UT Martin inside the Elam Center. Sixth-year head coach Cindy Stein returns 10 letterwinners from last year's squad that advanced to the MVC Tournament Semifinals for the second time in three seasons. Four starters are back, including junior preseason All-MVC selection Nicole Martin and 2018 MVC Freshman of the Year Abby Brockmeyer.

Game Info

Date: Nov. 9, 2018
Tip-off: 6 p.m.
Location: Martin, Tenn.
Arena: Elam Center (4,258)
Radio: Saluki Sports Network (Magic 95.1 FM in southern Illinois)
Talent: Connor Onion (play-by-play)
Video: None

Series History

• SIU trails UT Martin, 9-10, in the all-time series that dates back to 1973.
• The two teams last met on Nov. 10, 2017, with the Salukis earning the victory, 84-72 in their season opener.
• The Skyhawks won the last meeting between the two programs at the Elam Center- a 76-68 win on Nov. 29, 2016.
• Southern's last win in Martin, Tenn. came on Nov. 14, 2014- an 87-78 victory.

Last Time

• The Skyhawks got to within two at the end of the first half but the Salukis outscored the Skyhawks 22-6 in the third quarter to build a double-digit lead it never relinquished.
• Kylie Giebelhausen had a game-high 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting while Makenzie Silvey added 15 points, nine of which came in the second half. Nicole Martin scored 10 points and added eight rebounds, while Kristen Nelson tied or set career-bests in assists (8), steals (4), rebounds (3) and minutes played (26).
• Silvey became just the 12th Saluki since 1983 to score 10-plus points in her first collegiate game and the first to do so since Ariel Haynes dropped in 10 points at Austin Peay on Nov. 11, 2011. Silvey's 15 points vs. UT Martin were the second-most in a Saluki debut. Tanaeya Worden scored 17 points vs. DePaul to open the 2007-08 season.
• The Salukis shot 52.7 percent from the floor, including 50 percent from three-point range and dished out 20 assists on 29 field goals. It marked the first time since the 1996-97 season that Southern has opened a season with that many assists.
• SIU's defense was stifling as well, as Southern recorded 14 steals- the most in a game during the Cindy Stein-era and the most in a game by the Salukis since SIU swiped 17 against the Evansville Purple Aces on Jan. 2, 2010.

A Look at the Skyhawks

• Last season the Skyhawks made the program's seventh postseason appearance in the past eight years while posting a 19-15 record and a Postseason WNIT berth.
• Roster features one senior, one junior and 13 freshmen and sophomores.
• Preseason All-OVC honorees Chelsey Perry and Emanye Robertson return to lead UT Martin. Perry averaged 11.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game a year ago while Robertson averaged 10.9 points and 3.7 assists per game.
• Kendall Spray, who scored a team-high 20 points on 50% shooting against SIU a year ago, transferred to Clemson in the offseason.
• In fact, only 5 of the 10 Skyhawks who played against the Salukis last season are back led by Perry, who poured in 16 points and added seven rebounds in that contest.
• Zaire Hicks, who finished with a team-best 16 points in UT Martin's season opening win over Samford, scored 12 points in 25 minutes last season against SIU.

SIU vs. the OVC

• The Salukis went 2-2 last season against Ohio Valley Conference opponents.
• In 181 lifetime meetings against OVC schools, the Salukis sport a .718 winning percentage (130-51).

Stein vs. the OVC

• Cindy Stein is 24-11 all-time against OVC schools during her 21 seasons as a head coach.
• Stein sports a .500 or better career record against six OVC schools, including UT Martin, who she is 3-3 all-time against.

Freshmen Debut

• The 2018 recruiting class of Caitlin Link and Payton McCallister will make their Saluki debuts on Friday.
• The talented duo will be called upon to contribute immediately with 13 Salukis on the active roster.
• Link averaged 20.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.3 steals per game as a senior and as a junior helped Edgewood go 25-3 and win the Wisconsin Division 3 state title.
• McCallister was ranked a three-star recruit by ESPN, which also ranked her as the 86th-best point guard in the Class of 2018. She won a state title as a freshmen at Rock Bridge and was one of 12 girls from Missouri nominated for the McDonald's All-American Game.

Freshmen with 10-plus points

Last season, Makenzie Silvey became just the 12th Saluki since 1983 to score 10-plus points in her first collegiate game. Below is a look at the most points by a freshman in their collegiate debut in school history.

Saluki freshmen to score 10-plus in a season opener:

Tanaeya Worden	17	vs. DePaul	2007-08
Makenzie Silvey	15	vs. UT Martin	2017-18
Olivia Lett	14	vs. SLU	2008-09
Mary Berghuis	12	vs. Tennessee	1984-85
Cari Hassell	12	at Vanderbilt	1994-95
Molly McDowell	12	vs. Wisconsin	1999-00
Meredith Jackson	11	vs. Murray St.	1996-97
Dana Olsen	11	vs. Missouri	2006-07
Racquel Ransom	10	vs. Illinois	1991-92
Maria Neibrugge	10	at Northwestern	1997-98
Teri Oliver	10	vs. SLU	2009-10
Ariel Haynes	10	at Austin Peay	2011-12

Martin Named to Preseason All-MVC Team

• The Missouri Valley Conference named Nicole Martin, a 6-foot-1 forward from Jefferson City, Mo., as one of five chosen to the league's preseason all-conference squad. She was joined by Megan Maahs of Northern Iowa, Alexa Willard of Missouri State, Sara Rhine and Becca Hittner of Drake. Hittner, the reigning MVC Player of the Year, was selected as the league's preseason Player of the Year.
• Martin had a breakout sophomore campaign in which she led the team in scoring and finished the regular season ranked in the top-15 in the Valley in six statistical categories.

Brockmeyer back for more

• Abby Brockmeyer led all Valley freshmen in rebounds (6.9/game), blocks (1.2/game), field goal percentage (49.5%), offensive rebounds (2.4/game) and defensive rebounds (4.5/game) and finished fourth in the Valley amongst freshmen in scoring and minutes per game (28.8).
• Brockmeyer tied for 15th nationally among freshmen in rebounds per game and ranked 22nd amongst freshmen nationally in blocks per game.
• Scored a career-high 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting at Evansville (12/29) to tie Cartaesha Macklin's 2011 school record for points by a freshmen in a single game.
• Her five double-doubles were tied with Mary Berghuis for the second-most in a freshman season in program history while her 38 blocks were the second-most in a freshman season in school history.

SIU in Season Openers

• The Salukis own a 23-34 all-time record in season openers dating back to the 1961-62 season, having last won their opener in 2017-18, which marked the first time they had done so since 2014.
• The 2017-18 Salukis opened with an 84-72 win over UT Martin behind 25 points from Kylie Giebelhausen.
• Southern hasn't won consecutive season openers since the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons. The Salukis defeated San Francisco, 71-46 to open the 1990-91 season, and followed with a 73-48 win over Illinois to begin the 1991-92 season.

Starting the season on the Road

• Southern's last road win to open a season came on Nov. 14, 2014 at UT-Martin- an 87-78 win behind a double-double from Dyana Pierre (16 pts./11 rebs.).
• Prior to that victory, the Salukis hadn't opened a season with a road win since the 2000-01 season, when SIU defeated UIC, 57-40 on Nov. 18, 2000.

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 Northern Iowa. Missouri State, SIU and Illinois State rounded out the top-five.
• It marked the fourth-straight season that SIU has been picked fourth in the annual poll, which is the longest streak of Southern being picked in the top-half of the league since the Salukis were picked in the top half every season from 1983 until 1997, including six seasons (83-84, 86-87, 87-88, 89-90, 90-91, 92-93) in which they were chosen as the league favorites.

Non-conference Slate

• Five home dates, four away contests and two neutral sites games make up this year's non-conference slate, which is highlighted by SIU's trip to Las Vegas for the 2018 South Point Thanksgiving Shootout.
• This year's South Point Thanksgiving Shootout will be one of the premier mid-season tournaments in the country, as the eight team field consists of five teams that played in the NCAA Tournament a year ago (Arizona State, Baylor, Buffalo, Louisville, South Dakota State) and a sixth, Georgetown, that advanced to the second round of the WNIT. Southern will take on Hartford (Nov. 23) before tangling with the Arizona State Sun Devils on Nov. 24.

Salukis at a glance

• The Saluki women's basketball team has made 10 postseason appearances, including four trips to the NCAA Tournament. The Salukis capped off a perfect 18-0 conference season in 1987 with a run to the Sweet 16 in which they recorded SIU's first-ever NCAA Tournament win over LSU.
• The Salukis won the program's 700th game a year ago- one of only 95 DI teams out of 349 to reach the 700 win plateau.
• SIU has had 11 student-athletes go pro- including Bonnie Foley and Jeri Hoffman, who were both drafted in the inaugural Women's Basketball League in 1979 by the St. Louis Streak while Connie Howe, a 1981 graduate, went on to play with the All-American Redheads, the women's equivalent of the Harlem Globetrotters. Howe also played for the Minnesota Fillies of the WBL and was enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame with her All-American Redhead teammates in 2012.
• Fellow Salukis have gone on to play in pro leagues in Japan, Switzerland, Greece, Ireland, Amsterdam, Finland, Sweden, Serbia and Bosnia.

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