Women's Basketball opens Compass Challenge against NIU on Friday

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Southern Illinois University women's basketball team will host the inaugural Compass Challenge beginning on Friday, Dec. 7. The two-day tournament will pit the four Illinois directional schools- Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western Illinois, against one another in an annual mid-season tournament.

The first edition of the Compass Challenge will play out in the manner of a typical classic, with each team playing exactly two games. In the years to follow, a winner will be crowned via a championship game. The two-day event is reminiscent of the days of the IAIAW when programs in Illinois battled it out for an Illinois state championship before advancing to Regionals. SIU takes on Northern Illinois on Friday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. before tangling with Eastern Illinois on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 3:30 p.m.

Promotions

Fans in attendance will have a unique opportunity to watch the game courtside. Saluki Athletics has announced the addition of a "courtside courtyard" for games during the Compass Challenge. The courtside viewing area will be across from the opposing team's bench and will provide fans with a terrific view of the action as well as an opportunity to socialize, purchase adult beverages and challenge fellow fans to select tailgating games, including bags. No special ticket is needed for the "courtside courtyard" but attendees must be 21 years old or older to partake.

All-time vs. the Huskies

• Northern Illinois holds a 14-11 advantage over Southern in an all-time series that dates back to 1965.
• NIU has won five-straight in the series, and 10 of the last 11 dating back to 1989.
• Northern won the most recent meeting- a 53-50 win in DeKalb, Ill. on Nov. 29, 2011.
• SIU's last win in the series came in Carbondale nearly 24 years to the day - an 87-57 victory over Northern on Dec. 8, 1994.
• Southern is 3-4 all-time vs. Northern on its home floor.

All-time vs. the Panthers

• The Salukis hold a commanding 37-6 all-time series lead over the Eastern Illinois Panthers.
• Southern has won seven-straight in the series, and nine of the last 10 meetings dating back to 1989.
• SIU has won three-straight against EIU on its home floor, including a 66-60 win in the most recent meeting between the two programs on Dec. 16, 2013.
• SIU is 9-3 all-time vs. Eastern on its home floor.

Scouting the Huskies

• The Huskies enter the weekend after having split at the Lady Grizz Classic, hosted by Montana.
• Northern lost to Montana but defeated Nevada, 98-69.
• Courtney Woods earned her 2nd MAC West POW honor of the season after she averaged 23.7 points and shot over 55% from the field at the Lady Grizz Classic.
• Woods led the MAC in scoring (22.1 ppg) a year ago.
• Woods was one of 20 named to the 2019 Cheryl Miller Award watch list, an award given annually to the top small forward in NCAA DI basketball.
• NIU was picked to finish fourth in the West Division of the MAC in the annual preseason coaches poll.
• Earlier this season, NIU defeated MVC foe UNI, 70-59.
• The Huskies, who typically play at a frantic pace offensively, rank 50th nationally in scoring offense (77.3 pts/game) and 21st in possessions per 40 minutes (78.9).
• Their pace has also been their undoing- NIU is currently ranked 14th in the nation in turnovers per game (12.4). The Huskies have turned the ball over 10 or more times in six of seven games this season.
• The Huskies have also hoisted up at least 18 threes in each of their seven games this season- and have taken 30-plus three-pointers on three occaisions.
• NIU is 3-0 when winning the rebounding battle and just 1-3 when they don't.

SIU vs. the MAC

• Southern's record is 17-16 all-time when facing MAC programs. NIU left the MAC from 1986-97 and the two programs faced nine times during that period (3-6).
• The Salukis are 20-22 all-time against current Mid-American Conference schools.
• This marks the first time since Dec. 20, 2014 vs. Toledo that SIU has faced a MAC opponent.
• Southern's last win over a team from the MAC came on Dec. 10, 1988- a 47-32 win over Central Michigan in Carbondale.

Stein vs. the MAC

• Cindy Stein is 8-2 all-time against MAC schools during her 22 seasons as a head coach.
• Stein sports a .500 or better career record against six MAC schools, including NIU, who she is 1-0 all-time against.

Scouting the Panthers

• EIU is 3-3 on the season and are coming off of back-to-back one possession losses to MVC opponents.
• The Panthers lost to Bradley, 67-64 before falling to Valpo, 62-60.
• Eastern was picked to finish 11th in the OVC under second-year head coach Matt Bollant.
• The Panthers returned all five starters from a year ago including Preseason All-OVC selection Grace Lennox. Lennox, who missed all but eight games last season with a knee injury, averaged 16.3 points per game during the 2016-17 season.
• The Panthers have struggled this season to get to the free throw line and then make free throws while there.
• EIU currently ranks 324 out of 349 teams nationally in free throw percentage (58.4%) and its 59 made free throws are 313th out 349.

SIU vs. the OVC

• The Salukis are 1-1 this year against OVC schools after the win over SEMO.
• In 183 lifetime meetings against OVC schools, the Salukis sport a .715 winning percentage (131-52).

Stein vs. the OVC

• Cindy Stein is 25-12 all-time against OVC schools during her 21 seasons as a head coach.
• Stein sports a .500 or better career record against five OVC schools, including EIU, who she is 4-0 all-time against.

This Day in Saluki WBB History

Dec. 7, 1985
• Southern defeated MAC foe ball State, 82-62 inside Davies Gym.
• Southern shot 55.1% from the field in the game and led by 13, 41-28 at the half.
• Both Bridgett Bonds (16 pts, 9 rebs) and Petra Jackson (25 pts, 9 rebs) finished a board shy of a double-double, and were two of the four Salukis to reach double figures.

Dec. 8, 1983
• Southern posted its first-ever win over a ranked opponent with a 66-60 victory over No. 17 Western Kentucky.
• Four scored in double figures for Southern in the win, and three posted double-doubles - Char Warring (18pts, 12 rebs), Connie Price (14 pts, 14 rebs) and Petra Jackson (10 pts, 12 rebs).
• The score was tied 21-all at the half, but Southern pulled away down the stretch thanks to a +20 rebounding margin (55-to-35).

Silvey scoring in double figures

• Makenzie Silvey has scored in double figures in six of SIU's 7 games this season and in eight of her last nine games dating back to the end of last season.
• She has reached double-digits in points in 23 of her 38 career games.
• Her 19 three-pointers made through 7 games are tied for the 16th-most in a season by a sophomore in program history. Teri Oliver holds the sophomore record for 3-pointers in a season with 71 treys during the 2010-11 season.

Nelson's big game off the bench

• Kristen Nelson scored a season-high 13 points- one point shy of her career-best- in a career-high 32 minutes off the bench for the Salukis at St. Louis.
• Set season-bests in nearly every statistical category against SLU including minutes played (32), field goals made (5), field goals attempted (9), 3-pointers made (2), 3-pointers attempted (5), rebounds (5), assists (4) and steals (1).
• Her five field goals made tied a career-high and were the most for the Farmington, Mich. native since Dec. 20, 2017 vs. Miami.

Battle of the Boards

• The Salukis have out-rebounded their opponent in six of seven games this season, which included a season-best +17 rebounding margin in the win over Hartford.

Ball Security

• Southern turned the ball over a season-low nine times vs. St. Louis on Nov. 29.
• It marked the 14th time in Coach Stein's six years as head coach that SIU has turned the ball over less than 10 times in a single game.
• The Salukis are 9-5 (.642) under Stein when turning the ball over fewer than 10 times.
• In the six seasons prior to Stein's arrival (2008-13), Southern finished with single-digit turnovers on just four occasions.

Strong Start

• Brittney Patrick has started all seven games at point guard for the Salukis and leads the league in assists per game (5.0). She is currently second in assists (35) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.69).
• SIU has only once had a player lead the league in assists per game (Cartaesha Macklin, 2013) and Patrick's 2.69 assist-to-turnover ratio would be a school record.
• Southern has only once had a player finish a season with a 2.0 or higher assist-to-turnover ratio- Rishonda Napier set a program record with 145 assists to just 67 turnovers (2.16) during the 2017 season.

Double-Double Machine

• Abby Brockmeyer recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 17 points, 10 rebounds and a career-best five assists in SIU's win over Hartford on Nov. 23.
• She became the fastest sophomore to reach four double-doubles in a single-season in program history.
• Her four double-doubles this season are already tied for the fourth-most in a sophomore season in school history and are tied with Drake's Sara Rhine for the most in the MVC this season.

Making them count

• Nicole Martin is shooting at a 56.8% clip to open the season- which is second to Drake's Sara Rhine in the Valley.
• Martin has been particularly effective this season at finishing at the rim, as all 46 of her baskets have come from two-point range.
• The 2018 Preseason All-MVC selection scored a team-high 21 points vs. St. Louis- which marked the fifth time in her career that she has reached the 20-point plateau.

Calendar

Upcoming Events