Women's Basketball opens MVC play at Valparaiso, Loyola

The Southern Illinois University women's basketball team opens Missouri Valley Conference play at Valparaiso on Friday, Jan. 3 before taking on Loyola at Gentile Arena on Sunday, Jan. 5. The Salukis are 6-0 in conference openers under seventh-year head coach Cindy Stein, and have won four-straight over Valparaiso. Tip-off against the Crusaders is set for 6 p.m. and both of SIU's games this weekend will be broadcast on ESPN+/ESPN3.

All-Time vs. the Crusaders

The Salukis and the Crusaders will meet for the fifth time Friday night.
The Salukis are 4-0 all-time against the Crusaders.
Three of SIU's four wins have been by 11 or more points.

All-Time vs. the Ramblers

The Salukis and the Ramblers will meet for the 18th time in a series that dates back to 1982.
Southern improved to 10-7 against Loyola with last season's sweep but are just 4-4 when playing at Loyola.
The Salukis have won six of the last seven meetings between the two teams and won the first-ever meeting between the two schools, a 75-60 win at Loyola on Dec. 18, 1982.

6-0 in Conference Home Openers under Stein

The Salukis are 6-0 in conference openers under head coach Cindy Stein.
SIU had lost three-straight conference openers prior to Stein's arrival in 2013.
Overall, the Salukis hold a .578% winning percentage (22-16) in conference openers since 1981-82.

Compass Challenge Champs

The Southern Illinois Salukis defeated Western Illinois, 79-65 and followed with an 80-61 win over Northern Illinois to win the Compass Challenge for the second-straight season.
Makenzie Silvey was named the Tournament's MVP for the second-straight season while Kristen Nelson earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team once again.
Southern defeated Western and Northern by an average of 17.5 points and shot a combined 47.6 percent from the field in its two wins.

Dropping Dimes

Southern's ball movement was superb in both of its wins at the Compass Challenge. The Salukis dished out 24 assists in the win over the Leathernecks and finished with 24 assists in the win over the Huskies.
It's the first back-to-back 20-plus assist games for Southern since 2016.
SIU's 24 assists in the win over NIU were its most against a DI opponent since 2001.

Lighting it up from 3

SIU shot 43.3% (13-for-30) from three in the win over Western Illinois and its 13 threes are tied for the third-most in a game in school history.

Volume Scoring

Makenzie Silvey has reached double figures in 21-straight games dating back to the end of last season.
Silvey's streak is the longest streak by a Saluki since 1991.
The Glen Carbon, Ill. native is just 44 points shy of becoming the 27th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
She also made her 150th career three-pointer in the win over Northern Illinois and ranks seventh in program history in the category. The junior guard leads the Valley in three-point field goal percentage (41.1%).
Silvey is averaging 18.3 points per game- which is second in the Valley and ranks 44th nationally.
The 2019 All-MVC honorable mention selection has five 20-point games this season- which are as many as she had in her career coming into this season.

Most consecutive games scoring in double figures
Amy Rakers - 58-straight (1989-91)
Petra Jackson - 23-straight (1985-86)
Charr Warring - 22-straight (1983-84)
Makenzie Silvey - 21-straight (2019-20)
Teri Oliver - 18-straight (2011-12)

Non-Conference wins

The Salukis' eight non-conference wins this season are tied for the most in a single-season in program history and are the most since 1987.
It marks the second-straight season, and the fifth time in head coach Cindy Stein's seven-year tenure, that the Salukis will enter conference play with a winning record.

Approaching a milestone

Head coach Cindy Stein is just two wins shy of 100 for her Saluki career.
She would join Charlotte West and Cindy Scott as the only Saluki coaches to win 100-plus games as SIU's head coach.

December is our favorite month

SIU is 8-1 in December over the last two seasons, which including the first perfect December in 31 years in 2018.
The Salukis are 25-15 (.625) all-time in the month of December under seventh-year head coach Cindy Stein.

Getting to the basket

Through 11 games, SIU ranks second in the Valley, and 19th nationally in field goal percentage (46.4%).
The Salukis have made at least 40-percent of their attempts from the field in all 11 games this season.
SIU shot 55% from the field in its win at Eastern Michigan- which marked the third time already this season that Southern has shot 50% or better from the floor. SIU's three games shooting 50% or higher is as many as it had during the entire 2018-19 season.
Southern is 14-6 under seventh-year head coach Cindy Stein when making at least half of its shot attempts.
Since 1988, SIU holds an .811% (86-20) winning percentage when shooting 50% or better.

Upping its average

The Salukis currently rank third in the Valley, and 36th in the nation, with a 76.3 points per game average.
Southern scored 80 points in its win over Northern Illinois, which marked the eighth time in 11 games this season that SIU has scored 70 or more points in a game. The Salukis scored 70-plus points in 10 games all of last season.
Southern ranks in the top-25 nationally in both field goal and three-point field goal percentage. SIU ranks 21st nationally in 3-point FG percentage at 37.6-percent.

Protecting the Rock

Kristen Nelson leads the 3rd nationally, with a 2.53 assist-to-turnover ratio. • The senior guard has dished out four-plus assists in four-straight games and has 38 assists to just 15 turnovers on the season. In fact, Nelson has two or less turnovers in all 11 of SIU's games this season.

Points per 100 possessions

Southern is averaging 104.9 points per 100 possessions- which is the best in the Valley and is 26th-best in the nation. SIU's 104.9 points per 100 possessions average is nearly 10 points more than last season. (95.0 points per 100 possessions).
The Salukis are doing so thanks to a .89 points per play average- the best average in the MVC and 27th-best in the nation.

Climbing the Charts

Nicole Martin's 1,193 career points are the 16th-most in school history. She is seven points shy of cracking the Top-15 in program history.

Career Points, SIU history

15. Teri Oliver - 1,199
16. Nicole Martin - 1,193
17. Jayme Sweere - 1,192

Martin, a two-time All-MVC First Team selection, is one of four current players in the Valley with 1,000 career points.

Current Valley Players w/ 1000 pts
Sara Rhine (Drake) - 1,880
Becca Hittner (Drake) - 1,754
Alexa Willard (Missouri State) - 1,237
Nicole Martin (SIU) - 1,193

1000 Point Watch

The Salukis have a pair of juniors, Makenzie Silvey and Abby Brockmeyer, who are quickly approaching the 1,000-point milestone.
Silvey sits at 956 career points while Brockmeyer scored her 750th career point in the win over Northern Illinois. Brockmeyer became just the seventh player in program history, and first since Kylie Giebelhausen, to record 750 career points/500 rebounds/75 assists/75 blocks and 50 steals in a career.

100 Career Steals

With her two steals against Murray State, Brittney Patrick became the 30th player in program history to reach the century mark in career steals.
Makenzie Silvey joined Patrick in the 100-steal club with her two steals in each of SIU's wins at the Compass Challenge. Kristen Nelson, meanwhile, needs two steals to join Patrick and Silvey in the club.

300 Career Assists

Brittney Patrick dished out her 300th career assist in the win over Western Illinois on Dec. 19.
It marked the third-straight game in which the DeKalb, Ill. native has dished out five or more assists- which is one game shy of the longest streak of five-plus assists games in her career.
Patrick became just the 13th player in program history with 300 assists/100 steals in a career.

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Abby Brockmeyer

Kylie Giebelhausen

Nicole Martin

Kristen Nelson

Brittney Patrick

Makenzie Silvey

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