Southern Illinois University
6-3,0-0MVC
Murray State University
6-3,0-0OVC
Salukis hang on for 76-66 win over Racers
12/15/2019 | 5:28:00 | Women's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Nicole Martin scored a season-high 24 points and Makenzie Silvey added her fifth 20-point game of the season to help the Southern Illinois University women's basketball team (6-3) hang on for a 76-66 win over the Murray State Racers (6-3) inside Banterra Center.
It was a wire-to-wire win for the Salukis, who led by as many as 18. Southern knocked down four of its first five attempts from three-point range to race out to a 16-4 advantage through the first four minutes of play. SIU led 25-11 at the end of the first quarter and maintained its double-digit lead until late in the fourth quarter when a frenzied run by the Racers cut SIU's advantage down to single-digits.
"Im just glad we survived it," seventh-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "We were coming off maybe one good day of practice. This is probably the heaviest academic week we've had since I've been here as far as our kids having finals up until five o'clock on Friday and then we were trying to prepare for a really good team. I felt like we got off to a great start today and just kind of hung on the rest of the game."
Murray State used the three-ball to get back into the game late. The Racers made 6-of-9 from the behind the arc in the second half to cut SIU's lead down to five (67-62) with just under four minutes remaining in regulation, but Southern turned to Martin for an answer that she provided in the form of a three-point play. Murray State, who came into the contest riding a five-game winning streak, never got closer.
"We played really well at times," Stein said. "The game came down to when we needed to get some gritty, defensive stops- we did. When we had to find a way to score- we did. Those are always good moments that we can learn from and get better."
Nicole Martin finished with a season-high 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting to go along with six rebounds. Martin's best game thus far this season came after a loss to SEMO in which the two-time All-MVC selection played just 12 minutes due to foul trouble- the fewest minutes for her in a game since her freshman season (1/13/17).
"The loss to SEMO has been in the back of my mind since the buzzer went off at the end of the game last Saturday," Martin said. "Coach Stein emphasized that we remember that loss and practice hard this week because of it. I had that loss on my mind as we were playing today."
Makenzie Silvey notched her fifth 20-point output of the season, as she finished with 20 points, six boards, two assists and a steal. In doing so, the 2019 All-MVC selection extended her streak of games scoring in double figures to 19, which is the longest streak by a Saluki since 1991.
Brittney Patrick added nine points, a season-high six assists and two steals while Kristen Nelson chipped in eight points, a season-high six assists, a block and a steal. Patrick and Nelson became the first Saluki duo since Dec. 19, 2000 to record six or more assists in the same game.
Southern's bench also outscored Murray State's 13-to-6, as Awa Keita led the way for the reserves with season-bests in points (7), rebounds (5) and minutes played (16).
"I liked Awa's play," Stein said. "She came in and did some good things. Everyone who came off the bench did something really good for us that we were able to build on."
The Salukis won the battle of the boards, 40-to-38, outshot the Racers, 45.0%-to-38.7%, turned the ball over less (14-to-15) and shot more free throws (23-to-15).
Southern's defense forced Murray State to work for every basket, which included the top scorer in the Ohio Valley Conference, Macey Turley. Turley finished with a game-high 31 points but needed 25 shots to do it. No one else on the Racers had more than eight points.
"Macey Turley is a phenomenal player," Stein said. "She's one of the best point guards I've seen in a long time. We wanted to make her work. 31 points on 25 attempts- I feel like we did something right there."
The win marked the fifth-straight for the Salukis over the Racers and the 13th-straight home win for Southern over its regional rival. The victory also clinches a winning record in non-conference play for the fifth time in seven seasons under Stein.
The Salukis are back in action on Thursday, Dec. 19 when they take on the Western Illinois Leathernecks as part of the 2019 Compass Challenge, hosted by Northern Illinois.
