Women's Basketball hosts Valparaiso on Friday for Blackout Cancer game

CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois women's basketball team (8-8, 1-4) hosts Valparaiso (5-12, 1-4) on Friday at 6 p.m. for its annual Blackout Cancer game. Saluki Athletics partners with Southern Illinois Healthcare each year for games during Football, Men's Basketball, and Women's Basketball season, in which fans bid on the game-worn jerseys. The proceeds raised go to benefit the SIH Cancer Institute, which provides quality state-of-the-art care, close to home, for cancer patients, caregivers and their families.

All-Times Series History vs. Valpo

• The Salukis and the Crusaders will meet for the third time Friday.
• Southern won the first meeting, a 74-63 win inside the SIU Arena behind a then career-high 19 points from Makenzie Silvey.
• The Salukis outlasted the Crusaders to win at Valparaiso in double overtime, 88-86 on Feb. 16.
• Valpo's Maya Meredith drained a half-court shot to force overtime. Kylie Giebelhausen scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 48 minutes of play- which were the most minutes played by a Saluki since at least 1983.

Current Salukis vs. the Crusaders

• Makenzie Silvey reached double figures in both of SIU's wins over Valparaiso a year ago and comes into Friday's contest averaging 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals in two career meetings versus the Crusaders.
• Silvey's 17.0 points per game average against Valparaiso are her highest scoring average against any one MVC team.
• Nicole Martin averaged 15.0 points and 6.5 rebounds against the Crusaders last season. Martin finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in SIU's home win over Valpo on Jan. 21.
• Abby Brockmeyer chipped in 11.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in her two career meetings against Valparaiso.

Scouting the Crusaders

• The Crusaders have lost four of their last five games and are 5-12 overall and 1-4 in the Valley.
• Meredith Hamlet leads the team with a 13.5 points per game average while Addison Stoller is second in scoring (10.7) and leads the Crusaders in rebounds per game (6.2).
• The Crusaders have placed an added emphasis on three-point shooting this season. Valpo leads the league in three-pointers attempted (414) and 38.5% of its shots this season are from behind the arc- the 19th-highest three-point rate nationally.
• Valparaiso's achilles heel this season has been rebounding- they currently rank 345th out 349 NCAA DI teams in rebounds per game (30.82).

This Day in Saluki WBB History

Jan. 25, 1996
• The Salukis improved to 6-2 in the MVC with a 89-54 win over Illinois State.
• SIU shot 58.6% from the floor, including 50% from the three while holding ISU to 29.8% from the field.
• Southern led by 21, 48-27 at the half.
• Four scored in double figures for the Salukis, led by Nikki Gilmore's 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
• 11 of the 12 Salukis that played scored at least one basket in the win.

Running the Point

• Brittney Patrick currently leads the Valley, and ranks 17th nationally, in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.72).
• Patrick's 4.9 assists per game also leads the MVC while she also leads the league in total assists (79).
• SIU has only once had a player lead the league in assists per game (Cartaesha Macklin, 2013) and Patrick's 2.72 assist-to-turnover ratio would be a school record.

Assist-to-Turnover Ratio in the MVC (since 2002)
2.90 - Kristi Cerone, Illinois State, 2007-08
2.89 - Madison Weekly, UNI - 2016-17
2.64 - Sharnae Lamar, UNI - 2015-16
2.60 - Kristi Cerone, Illinois State, 2008-09
2.38 - Caitlin Ingle, Drake - 2016-17
2.30 - Melanie Boeglin, Indiana St. - 2002-03
2.16 - Rishonda Napier, SIU - 2016-17
2.14 - Sammie Bachrodt, Drake - 2017-18
2.10 - Kristi Cerone, Illinois State - 2006-07
2.10 - Jen Brown, Bradley - 2005-06
2.10 - Melanie Boeglin, Indiana State - 2005-06
2.01 - Alex Harden, Wichita State - 2013-14
2.00 - Tiffany Hudson, Illinois State - 2007-08

Disrupting Passing Lanes

• Southern has notched 10-plus steals in seven games this season, including 10 at Bradley on Jan. 20.
• Earlier this season, SIU's five-game streak of 10-plus steals was its longest since the 1994-95 team posted six-straight games with 10 or more takeaways.
• The Salukis are 5-2 this season when recording 10-plus steals and are 19-10 (.655) under Coach Cindy Stein when doing so.

Third Times a Charm

• With seven boards at Missouri State on Jan. 13, Makenzie Silvey tied her career-high in rebounds for the third time this season.
• She has snagged six or more rebounds in seven games this season - she did so just twice in 31 games as a freshman.

500 points/150 rebounds/100 assists

• Silvey dished out career assist No. 100 against Illinois State to become the 35th Saluki with 500 career points/150 rebounds/100 assists.

More from Silvey

• Silvey's 91 career three-pointers are eight shy of cracking the top-10 in program history.
• Silvey ranks second in the league in three-pointers made (39), three-pointers attempted (122), and three-pointers made per game (2.44).
• Scored 14 points at Bradley- which marked the fifth-straight game, and the ninth time in her last 10 games, in which she has reached double figures.

Closing in on 500

• Abby Brockmeyer enters the weekend just nine points shy of 500 for her career.
• When she reaches the 500-point milestone, Brockmeyer will become the 16th Saluki with at least 500 career points/300 rebounds/50 assists/50 blocks.
• She is currently top-5 in the league in double-doubles (2nd, 7), blocks per game (5th, 1.13) and rebounds per game (2nd, 8.5).

Doesn't happen often

• For the first time in her 47 career games as a Saluki, Abby Brockmeyer was held scoreless at Bradley on Jan. 20.

800 points/400 rebounds

• Nicole Martin scored her 800th career point at Missouri State on Jan. 13.
• She is the 26th Saluki with at least 800 career points and 400 career boards.

Leading the Way

• Nicole Martin made her first 11 attempts from the floor in the win over Evansville on Jan. 4 and finished 11-for-12.
• Martin's 91.7% field goal percentage is tied for the fifth-best single game performance in NCAA DI this season and was the best by a Saluki with at least 10 attempts since Dyana Pierre made 14-of-14 attempts from the floor in SIU's win over Murray State on Dec. 16, 2014.
• Martin has now scored in double figures in 12 of SIU's 16 games this season and in 42 of 78 career games.
• Martin is shooting 55.2% from the field this season- which currently ranks her second in the Valley and 34th nationally.

RPI

• The Missouri Valley Conference currently has six teams with top-175 RPIs, according to Warrennolan.com.
• Drake leads the way at No. 11. Northern Iowa (No. 79), Missouri State (No. 93), Indiana State (No. 158), SIU (No. 168) and Bradley (No. 173) are all currently in the top half of the NCAA In RPI.

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