Southern Illinois University
8-3,0-0MVC
Northern Illinois University
4-6,0-0MAC
Salukis repeat as Compass Challenge Champions with 80-61 win over Huskies
12/20/2019 | 10:59:00 | Women's Basketball
Makenzie Silvey was named the Tournament MVP for the second-straight season while Kristen Nelson earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
DEKALB, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University women's basketball team repeated as Compass Challenge Champions with an 80-61 win over Northern Illinois Friday inside the NIU Convocation Center.
The Salukis (8-3) never trailed in the win, as they raced out to a 16-4 lead after six and a half minutes and built their lead to 20 at the half. Northern Illinois (4-6) got to within 10 (55-45) with 9:33 to go in the fourth quarter, but Southern used a 17-4 run over the next four minutes to put the game away for good.
"We played some really good defense and caused some havoc," seventh-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "We were very patient on the offense end, made some good passes and hit some tough shots. Our start to the second half was a little rough but we got back going. It was nice to see our entire team play tough defense, attack the boards and hit shots."
SIU's offense reignited in the fourth quarter after a lull in the third quarter allowed NIU to claw away at Southern's 20-point halftime lead. The Salukis continued to find open shooters and turned good shots into great shots. The Salukis shot 73.9% (10-of-13) in the fourth stanza with assists on nine of 10 makes.
The Salukis finished with 24 assists in the win and averaged 23.5 assists per game in the two-game tournament. It's the first back-to-back 20-plus assist games for Southern since 2016. Four Salukis finished with at least four assists, led by Brittney Patrick's game-high six.
The win was a complete team effort, as 10 Salukis reached the scoring ledger, led once again by Tournament MVP Makenzie Silvey. The Glen Carbon, Ill. native finished with 14 points, four assists and two steals and averaged 14.5 points, four assists and two steals for the tournament.
Also joining Silvey on the All-Tournament team once again was Kristen Nelson. Nelson tallied eight points, four assists and a steal in the win over the Huskies and averaged 11.5 points, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game in SIU's two wins.
"Both of them played outstanding," Stein said of Silvey and Nelson. "Its hard to say who played better because they both played so well. Makenzie has the biggest splash because she comes up with timely shots and threes. But Kristen played a great couple of games as well. They both were guarding the best players on both teams and did a great job with that."
Nicole Martin (11 points/6 rebounds) and Gabby Walker (12 pts/career-high 8 rebounds) joined Silvey in double figures. Walker led the Saluki reserves, who outscored Northern's bench, 31-to-21. Payton McCallister added seven points and four assists while Awa Keita chipped in six points and two boards. All 14 players that dressed played.
"I felt really good about our entire squad," Stein said. "I felt like our bench really came to play. Our starters are always in sync but we've had great play coming off the bench so far this season. I felt like that was a big factor in our win today."
DeKalb native Brittney Patrick, playing in front of a large contingent of her family and friends, tallied eight points, six assists, six rebounds and five steals. The senior guard became just the 13th player in program history with both 300 career assists and 100 career steals in the win.
SIU once again won the rebounding battle, this time by a +15 margin (44-to-29). NIU, who came into the contest ranked 10th nationally in defensive rebounding with an average of 31.7 per game, was held to just 23. Southern, meanwhile, had 15 offensive rebounds.
"With them ranked tenth in the nation in defensive rebounding, we knew that was going to be a big factor in this game," Stein said. "We also knew that they have too many good shooters to give them second chances and good looks. We did a really good job of keeping them to one possession."
With the win, Southern ends the non-conference portion of its schedule with an 8-3 record. SIU's eight non-conference wins ties the school record set in 1987 for non-conference victories in a season.
The Salukis, winners of three-straight and six of their last seven games, are back in action on next Sunday, Dec. 29 when they host William Woods College for an exhibition game inside Banterra Center. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
