Southern Illinois University
10-6,2-3MVC
Missouri State University
14-3,4-1MVC
Salukis upset No. 17 Missouri State at the buzzer
01/17/2020 | 8:48:00 | Women's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University women's basketball team upset No. 17 Missouri State at the buzzer Friday, as Gabby Walker's layup with :01 seconds to go gave the Salukis their first win over a ranked opponent since 1991.
The Lady Bears tied the contest with :04 seconds to go, after a Jasmine Franklin put back knotted the score at 68-all. Southern (10-6, 2-3) called timeout and originally drew up a play for Makenzie Silvey. Brittney Patrick got the inbound pass, slashed to the basket and found Gabby Walker underneath for the go-ahead bucket. Missouri State threw away the ensuing inbound to seal the upset win.
"I'm not suppose to get the ball on that play," Patrick said of the game-winning basket. "They sagged off me and I saw that and went to the ball. I knew that my defender would block my shot, so I saw Gabby and had all the trust in the world that she was going to knock down the shot and she did."
Walker, who had just entered the game with the score tied and the clock winding down, had one thing on her mind.
"Make the layup," Walker said of what was going through her mind on the final play. "Just make the layup."
"On the last play, they took a lot of our first and second options away," seventh-year head coach Cindy Stein said of the last play. "Brittney made the next option and made it happen. She found Gabby and Gabby was poised enough to make it."
The win delivered the Salukis their first win over a ranked opponent since 1991, and their first home win over a Top-25 team since 1987.
The Salukis got contributions from nearly everyone in their upset win. Lauren Hartman tied her career-high with nine points, including a clutch free throw with :14 seconds to play that put SIU ahead by two. She also added six rebounds. Walker added nine points in 13 minutes off the bench while Patrick tallied a season-high 12 points to go along with eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. Kristen Nelson tallied 14 points and three steals while Nicole Martin chipped in 12 points.
"I'm very proud of our team," Stein said. "We've talked a lot about finding ways to win, that it was going to take a total team effort and that everyone on the team has to be ready. This was a game that was very indicative of all of that. We had great scoring and great play off the bench. We found different ways to score."
Southern led for nearly 30 minutes (29:28) of the game and withstood every run that Missouri State threw their way. The Salukis outscored the Lady Bears, 15-6 in the second quarter to take a 35-27 lead into the half and never trailed after that. Missouri State tied the contest at 44-all with 1:36 to go in the third but Southern scored five-straight points to close out the quarter.
The Salukis led by as many as eight in the final quarter but the Lady Bears did not go away quietly, as they tied the contest at 68-all with :04 to play. Patrick found Walker underneath with just :01 to go to seal the win.
"Obviously we had some turnovers late in the game that we don't want but regardless of all the adversity, we kept fighting back," Stein said. "That's what I'm most proud of- that we kept fighting back."
The win also marked Stein's 100th as SIU's head coach. She joins Saluki greats Charlotte West and Cindy Scott as the only head coaches in program history to reach the century mark for victories.
"Any win to me is extremely precious, but I will probably remember this one for a long time," Stein said of the win.
The Salukis are back on the road next weekend, beginning against Evansville on Friday, Jan. 24 at 6 p.m.
