Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
1-1,0-0MVC
Austin Peay State University
2-1,0-0OVC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Peay | 13 | 18 | 20 | 3 | 54 |
| Southern Ill. | 16 | 17 | 16 | 23 | 72 |
Salukis pull away late from Governors for first win of season
12/12/2020 | 6:26:00 | Women's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University women's basketball team dominated the fourth quarter of a 72-54 victory over Austin Peay Saturday evening inside Banterra Center.
With Austin Peay clinging to a two-point lead, 51-49 at the end of the third quarter, the Salukis (1-1) outscored the Governors, 23-3 over the final 10 minutes of play to seal their first victory of the 2020-21 season. Southern clicked on both ends of the floor in the fourth, as they shot 62.5% (10-of-16) from the field in the frame and held the Governors to 12.5% (1-of-8) shooting, including 0-for-4 from three-point range. SIU also forced seven turnovers, led by two of Quierra Love's three steals.
"I'm very proud of our kids," eighth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "We got off to a quick start, our jets got cooled a bit, and we needed to rebound a little better and we did. I'm really proud of our defense, especially in the fourth quarter. The defensive pressure and the containment that Quierra Love was able to apply was critical, as was the play of our posts, Abby Brockmeyer and Gabby Walker. I'm just excited that we were able to get a victory in the win column and our focus will soon shift to tomorrow's game."
Makenzie Silvey led all scorers with 16 points to go along with five assists, four rebounds and two steals. Brockmeyer finished a rebound shy of a double-double, as she tallied 14 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three assists. Walker scored 10 of her 12 points in the fourth quarter while Love was the straw that stirred SIU's drink offensively and defensively. The freshman from Glen Carbon, Ill. finished with a career-high 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting to go along with four assists and three steals.
"Quierra's quickness is exciting to watch," Stein said. "We noticed her ability to play full-court defense right away when we recruited her. She came up with some great steals and some great effort plays today. She made some really good decisions at the point guard position and played very solid today."
In addition to a stifling defense in the fourth quarter, Southern also looked to its post players, Walker and Brockmeyer, to help limit Austin Peay's second chance opportunities. The Governors, who held a 25-to-21 rebounding advantage through three quarters, were out-rebounded 12-to-2 in the final frame. Walker snagged four boards in the fourth while Brockmeyer accounted for three.
"Rebounding was really a concern. It's hard to play Gabby and Abby together when we don't have a lot of depth but we can do that in the fourth quarter. That was a huge factor in us winning the boards in the fourth quarter. They did a great job and played really well together."
Southern opened the contest on a 11-2 run before the Governors countered with 11-straight points to take their first lead at 13-11. The Salukis then rattled off 10-straight points to take a 21-13 lead with 7:29 remaining in the first half. Austin Peay used a 9-2 swing to cut SIU's lead down to one, 23-22 and the two sides battled back and forth until Southern snagged a two-point edge, 33-31 at the half. Neither side led by more than three in a third quarter that featured four ties and seven lead changes. The Salukis erupted for the aforementioned 23-3 run during the fourth to seal their first win over the Governors since 2014.
SIU returns to action tomorrow when it hosts the defending OVC Tournament Champion SEMO Redhawks. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
