Friday, March 1
Carbondale, IL
6 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
13-13 6-9MVC
64
vs
71
Drake University
22-5,14-1MVC
1
2
3
4
F
Drake University
15
17
14
25
71
Southern Illinois
10
9
23
22
64
Salukis upset bid of No. 23 Bulldogs falls just short
03/01/2019 | 9:45:00 | Women's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. — No. 23 Drake escaped SIU Arena with a hard-fought 71-64 win over the Southern Illinois Salukis in Missouri Valley Conference play Friday night.
After trailing by as many as 16 in the first half, the Salukis shot 55.6% (15-of-27) from the field in the second half and used a 12-4 run to get to within two, 48-46, with 8:26 remaining in regulation. Southern cut its deficit to two on five other occasions in the fourth, including with just under two minutes to play. However, Drake's Maddy Dean hit a three as the shot clock expired with :47 to play to put the game out of reach.
"I think Drake is an outstanding team," sixth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "I would've liked to come out with a victory tonight but I thought our kids played their butts off. I think we're getting better and those are the things we ask of them- play your butts off and continue to get better."
The Bulldogs were paced by Becca Hittner, who scored 23 points and added seven rebounds. Sara Rhine, who came in averaging 19.3 points per game, was held to seven points on 2-of-7 shooting.
The Salukis were led by Makenzie Silvey, who reached double figures for the sixth-straight game with a team-high 15 points. Abby Brockmeyer added 12 points and eight rebounds while Kristen Nelson dropped in 10 points to go along with four assists.
Nelson tied the game at 8-all with a basket as the shot clock expired. From there, Drake went on a 24-8 run over the next 12:25 to build a 32-16 lead with :49 to play in the first half. Southern shot just 21.4% (3-of-14) from the field in the second quarter.
"If we could've cleaned up that second quarter, I think it would've been a different game," Stein said.
Southern faired much better in the third quarter, as it shot 53% (8-of-15) from the field and held Drake to 33.3% (5-of-15) shooting from the floor. The Salukis outscored Drake, 23-to-14 in the stanza, which included seven points from both Silvey and Brockmeyer.
Lauren Hartman's second 3-ball got SIU to within two, 48-46 with 8:26 to play in regulation. The Bulldogs pushed their lead back to six over the next three minutes before a layup by Rachel Pudlowski and a 10-foot jumper by Celina VanHyfte once again got Southern to within two with 4:05 remaining.
Both teams went scoreless over the next two minutes, before a free throw by Drake's Maddy Dean gave the Bulldogs a 61-58 lead. Brockmeyer drew a foul on the other end and converted 1-of-2 to get SIU back to within two, but five-straight points by Dean sealed the win for the Bulldogs.
Southern won the battle on the glass, as they out-rebounded Drake, 36-to-34, including a 21-to-12 edge on the boards in the second half.
"I think it proved that we can compete with everyone," said Silvey. "I think we believe we can compete with everyone, but when we played with (Drake) for 40 minutes and put together a pretty good 40 minutes, even though we fell short it just proves that we can give them all they can handle. I think that's a big confidence booster heading into our last three games."
The Salukis will close out the home portion of their 2019 season on Sunday when they host Northern Iowa for Senior Day. Tip-off against the Panthers is set for 2 p.m.
After trailing by as many as 16 in the first half, the Salukis shot 55.6% (15-of-27) from the field in the second half and used a 12-4 run to get to within two, 48-46, with 8:26 remaining in regulation. Southern cut its deficit to two on five other occasions in the fourth, including with just under two minutes to play. However, Drake's Maddy Dean hit a three as the shot clock expired with :47 to play to put the game out of reach.
"I think Drake is an outstanding team," sixth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "I would've liked to come out with a victory tonight but I thought our kids played their butts off. I think we're getting better and those are the things we ask of them- play your butts off and continue to get better."
The Bulldogs were paced by Becca Hittner, who scored 23 points and added seven rebounds. Sara Rhine, who came in averaging 19.3 points per game, was held to seven points on 2-of-7 shooting.
The Salukis were led by Makenzie Silvey, who reached double figures for the sixth-straight game with a team-high 15 points. Abby Brockmeyer added 12 points and eight rebounds while Kristen Nelson dropped in 10 points to go along with four assists.
Nelson tied the game at 8-all with a basket as the shot clock expired. From there, Drake went on a 24-8 run over the next 12:25 to build a 32-16 lead with :49 to play in the first half. Southern shot just 21.4% (3-of-14) from the field in the second quarter.
"If we could've cleaned up that second quarter, I think it would've been a different game," Stein said.
Southern faired much better in the third quarter, as it shot 53% (8-of-15) from the field and held Drake to 33.3% (5-of-15) shooting from the floor. The Salukis outscored Drake, 23-to-14 in the stanza, which included seven points from both Silvey and Brockmeyer.
Lauren Hartman's second 3-ball got SIU to within two, 48-46 with 8:26 to play in regulation. The Bulldogs pushed their lead back to six over the next three minutes before a layup by Rachel Pudlowski and a 10-foot jumper by Celina VanHyfte once again got Southern to within two with 4:05 remaining.
Both teams went scoreless over the next two minutes, before a free throw by Drake's Maddy Dean gave the Bulldogs a 61-58 lead. Brockmeyer drew a foul on the other end and converted 1-of-2 to get SIU back to within two, but five-straight points by Dean sealed the win for the Bulldogs.
Southern won the battle on the glass, as they out-rebounded Drake, 36-to-34, including a 21-to-12 edge on the boards in the second half.
"I think it proved that we can compete with everyone," said Silvey. "I think we believe we can compete with everyone, but when we played with (Drake) for 40 minutes and put together a pretty good 40 minutes, even though we fell short it just proves that we can give them all they can handle. I think that's a big confidence booster heading into our last three games."
The Salukis will close out the home portion of their 2019 season on Sunday when they host Northern Iowa for Senior Day. Tip-off against the Panthers is set for 2 p.m.
Team Stats
DU
SIU
FG%
.439
.411
3FG%
.333
.250
FT%
.722
.706
RB
34
36
TO
14
18
STL
12
2
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballF/C
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F/C
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