Salukis set to tangle with top-seeded Bulldogs for spot in MVC Title Game

MOLINE, Ill. -- The no. 4 seed Southern Illinois Salukis will face the no. 1 seed Drake Bulldogs in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Ill. today. With a win, Southern would advance to the conference championship game for the first time since the 1992-93 season.

All-time vs. Drake in the MVC Tournament

The Salukis are 2-5 all-time vs. Drake in the Gateway/MVC Tournament. Southern's two wins came in the Gateway Conference Tournament in 1983 and 1989. Drake has won all five meetings since the conference merged into the MVC before the 1992-93 season, most recently in 2007 when SIU was the No. 1 seed and fell to the No. 8 seed Drake, 59-47.

All-Time in the MVC Semifinals

Southern is 1-4 all-time in MVC Tournament semifinals. The Salukis last win in the conference tournament semifinals came in 1992-93, when the Salukis defeated Creighton, 71-69 in overtime. This marks the sixth appearance in the MVC Tournament semifinals for the Salukis, and the second under fifth-year head coach Cindy Stein. Southern is 1-4 all-time in MVC Tournament semifinals.

Big Fourth Quarter

The Salukis scored 28 points in their furious fourth quarter rally against Indiana State in Friday's quarterfinal matchup. It was the most points SIU has scored in a quarter this season.

Season-high for steals

SIU tied a season-best with 14 steals in its MVC Tournament quarterfinals win over Indiana State. Nicole Martin notched a career-high five steals and was one of seven Salukis to record a takeaway in the victory. It marked the 10th time SIU has swiped 10-plus steals in a game this season. That's the most 10-plus steal games in a single season in the Cindy Stein era, and the most since the 2007-08 season when the Salukis posted 10 games with 10-plus steals. The school record for most games with at least 10 steals is 20, set by the 1994-95 Salukis.

From the brink of elimination

The Salukis overcame an 18-point deficit to defeat the Indiana State Sycamores. It was Southern's largest comeback since overcoming an 18-point deficit in a 77-66 win over Tennessee Tech on Nov. 30, 2002.

All-Time Series vs. Drake

The Salukis and the Bulldogs will meet for the 85th time on Saturday. Drake leads the all-time series 56-28. That record, however, can be deceiving, as Southern and Drake have split the 34 (17-17) lifetime meetings in Carbondale.

Current Salukis vs. the Bulldogs

Kylie Giebelhausen is averaging 10.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game in eight career meetings against the Bulldogs. Giebelhausen has reached double figures in six of her six eight games against Drake, including a personal-best 16 points on Feb. 2, 2018. Nicole Martin is averaging 12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks per game in four games against the Bulldogs.

Double Figures

Nicole Martin scored in double figures for the seventh-straight game, and the 23rd time this season with her 11 points in the quarterfinal win over the Sycamores. Kylie Giebelhausen finished with 20 points, which marked 17th time this season she has reached double figures and the fourth time in which she has scored 20-plus points. Makenzie Silvey posted a double-digit scoring output for the 16th time this season, while Abby Brockmeyer did so for the 14th time.

Cleaning up at the awards ceremony

Kylie Giebelhausen leads the way with postseason honors, as she took home MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team, MVC All-Defensive Team and All-MVC First Team honors. Giebelhausen is just the sixth three-time MVC Scholar-Athlete selection in program history and she joins Nikki Gilmore, Kasia McClendon, Dyana Pierre and Rishonda Napier as the only Salukis to repeat as All-MVC First Team selections. Meanwhile Giebelhausen is just the fifth Saluki to earn All-Defensive Team honors since the award began prior to the 1995-96 season. Nicole Martin earned the first All-MVC honor of her young career and she Is the 12th different Saluki to earn All-MVC First Team selection and just the fifth to do so during her sophomore season. She also became the first player in program history, and the 22nd in MVC history, to earn All-MVC First Team honors a year after earning a spot on the MVC All-Freshman Team. Abby Brockmeyer is just the third Saluki to earn MVC Freshman of the Year honors, and the first to do so since Cartaesha Macklin won the award in 2012. Brockmeyer and Makenzie Silvey are the 11th and 12th different Salukis to earn inclusion on the MVC All-Freshman Team and it marks the first time in school history that Southern has placed two on the All-Freshman Team.

24 minutes from a school record

Kylie Giebelhausen needs to 24 minutes against Drake to break the all-time school record for minutes played. The record, held by Rishonda Napier, is 4,138 career minutes while Giebelhausen has logged 4,115 career minutes.

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