Friday, December 21
Carbondale, Ill.
2 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
7-4
78
vs
73
IUPUI
6-5
1
2
3
4
OT 1
F
IUPUI
14
14
17
23
5
73
Southern Illinois
16
14
17
21
10
78
Photo by: Tom Weber
Gritty defensive effort, clutch performances lead Salukis to overtime win over Jaguars
12/21/2018 | 6:24:00 | Women's Basketball
Southern improves to 5-0 at home on the season with the win.
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University women's basketball team claimed an emotional 78-73 overtime victory against the IUPUI Jaguars Friday inside SIU Arena for the Salukis' fourth-straight win. SIU (7-4) executed almost flawlessly in crunch time with multiple clutch performances on both ends of the floor to seal the victory over IUPUI, a program that has made three-straight trips to the WNIT and was picked to finish second in the Horizon League in the league's annual preseason poll.
With Southern clinging to a 62-61 lead with 2:24 to play, the Salukis clamped down defensively, turning IUPUI over on three-straight trips down the court. A pair of steals on back-to-back possessions by Nicole Martin, followed by a steal by Brittney Patrick, helped give SIU a 66-61 lead with :48 seconds to play.
"I think we put good pressure on them and did what we wanted to do- keep the ball out of Macee Williams' hands as much as possible," sixth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "I would tell you it was won defensively because when they got the lead, especially in overtime, we had to step up and make some plays."
IUPUI would not go gently into the good night though. Aided by a questionable unsportsmanlike conduct call that went against the Salukis with just :23 seconds to play, the Jaguars scored six-straight points to wrestle back the lead at 67-66. After a Saluki timeout, Southern worked the ball down low to Abby Brockmeyer, who drew contact and went to the line with five seconds remaining and SIU down two.
Brockmeyer, who came into the game shooting just 59.6% from the charity stripe, calmly sank both freebies to tie the contest at 68-all. For good measure, the Raymond, Ill. native picked up Sydney Hall at the top of the key on IUPUI's final possession in regulation and swatted her shot at the buzzer to officially send the game to OT.
"I think my knees were shaking a little bit when I was shooting them," Brockmeyer said of her two free throws with :05 to play in regulation. "I was more focused- I knew I needed to knock them both down to eventually send it to overtime."
Once in the overtime frame, Southern used a 6-0 run, highlighted by a four-point play by Kristen Nelson, to seal the win. For Nelson, it marked the second-straight game in which she has converted a four-point play and it was the seventh-straight three-pointer that she has made dating back to the win over Murray State on Dec. 18.
"Kris has had clutch threes pretty much every game and I think it got everybody hyped," Patrick said of Nelson's four-point play. "I think I ran across the court to help pick her up. It was exciting."
Brockmeyer led the way for the Salukis as she posted her sixth double-double of the season, and 11th of her career, with a game-high 25 points to go along with 10 rebounds, a block and a steal in 40 minutes of play. Nelson added 14 points on 50% shooting from the field, including 3-of-3 from behind the arc. Patrick reached double figures for the fifth time in her career, as she scored 12 points to go along with five steals, five rebounds and four assists. Martin, meanwhile, added 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals despite playing with multiple fouls for most of the game.
"I thought Abby Brockmeyer was amazing tonight," Stein said. "I thought Kris Nelson's shot was big time in a big moment. I think that in itself was good. Defensively, I thought we did a really good job on Macee Williams. She's a handful and Britt did a good job of controlling (Holly Hoopingarner) so she didn't get too hot on us. It was just a really good game and we came up with some stops when we needed them and some big time shots when we needed them."
The Salukis finished with a season-high 13 steals and forced the Jaguars to turn the ball over a season-high 25 times. Southern limited Williams, one of 20 players on the Lisa Leslie Award Watch List given to the nation's best center, to 20 points, 10 rebounds and a season-high six turnovers.
The win marks the first for Southern over a Horizon League opponent since 2000 and gives SIU a top-50 RPI win. IUPUI came into the contest ranked No. 44 in the latest RPI rankings.
The Salukis will have 15 days off for Christmas break before hosting Evansville to open conference play on Jan. 4. Tip-off for SIU's conference home opener is set for 6 p.m.
With Southern clinging to a 62-61 lead with 2:24 to play, the Salukis clamped down defensively, turning IUPUI over on three-straight trips down the court. A pair of steals on back-to-back possessions by Nicole Martin, followed by a steal by Brittney Patrick, helped give SIU a 66-61 lead with :48 seconds to play.
"I think we put good pressure on them and did what we wanted to do- keep the ball out of Macee Williams' hands as much as possible," sixth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "I would tell you it was won defensively because when they got the lead, especially in overtime, we had to step up and make some plays."
IUPUI would not go gently into the good night though. Aided by a questionable unsportsmanlike conduct call that went against the Salukis with just :23 seconds to play, the Jaguars scored six-straight points to wrestle back the lead at 67-66. After a Saluki timeout, Southern worked the ball down low to Abby Brockmeyer, who drew contact and went to the line with five seconds remaining and SIU down two.
Brockmeyer, who came into the game shooting just 59.6% from the charity stripe, calmly sank both freebies to tie the contest at 68-all. For good measure, the Raymond, Ill. native picked up Sydney Hall at the top of the key on IUPUI's final possession in regulation and swatted her shot at the buzzer to officially send the game to OT.
"I think my knees were shaking a little bit when I was shooting them," Brockmeyer said of her two free throws with :05 to play in regulation. "I was more focused- I knew I needed to knock them both down to eventually send it to overtime."
Once in the overtime frame, Southern used a 6-0 run, highlighted by a four-point play by Kristen Nelson, to seal the win. For Nelson, it marked the second-straight game in which she has converted a four-point play and it was the seventh-straight three-pointer that she has made dating back to the win over Murray State on Dec. 18.
"Kris has had clutch threes pretty much every game and I think it got everybody hyped," Patrick said of Nelson's four-point play. "I think I ran across the court to help pick her up. It was exciting."
Brockmeyer led the way for the Salukis as she posted her sixth double-double of the season, and 11th of her career, with a game-high 25 points to go along with 10 rebounds, a block and a steal in 40 minutes of play. Nelson added 14 points on 50% shooting from the field, including 3-of-3 from behind the arc. Patrick reached double figures for the fifth time in her career, as she scored 12 points to go along with five steals, five rebounds and four assists. Martin, meanwhile, added 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals despite playing with multiple fouls for most of the game.
"I thought Abby Brockmeyer was amazing tonight," Stein said. "I thought Kris Nelson's shot was big time in a big moment. I think that in itself was good. Defensively, I thought we did a really good job on Macee Williams. She's a handful and Britt did a good job of controlling (Holly Hoopingarner) so she didn't get too hot on us. It was just a really good game and we came up with some stops when we needed them and some big time shots when we needed them."
The Salukis finished with a season-high 13 steals and forced the Jaguars to turn the ball over a season-high 25 times. Southern limited Williams, one of 20 players on the Lisa Leslie Award Watch List given to the nation's best center, to 20 points, 10 rebounds and a season-high six turnovers.
The win marks the first for Southern over a Horizon League opponent since 2000 and gives SIU a top-50 RPI win. IUPUI came into the contest ranked No. 44 in the latest RPI rankings.
The Salukis will have 15 days off for Christmas break before hosting Evansville to open conference play on Jan. 4. Tip-off for SIU's conference home opener is set for 6 p.m.
Team Stats
IUPUI
SIU
FG%
.482
.477
3FG%
.348
.400
FT%
.688
.769
RB
35
34
TO
25
16
STL
3
13
Game Leaders
Pts
25
FGM
11
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball11.16.25 | Saluki Basketball Radio Podcast - NDSU Preview
Monday, November 17
11.16.25 | Saluki Radio Postgame USD - Nick Hill
Sunday, November 16
11.15.25 | Postgame Presser vs. South Dakota
Saturday, November 15
Saluki Football Radio Broadcast- #17 South Dakota
Saturday, November 15