Southern Illinois University
13-9,5-6MVC
University of Northern Iowa
14-8,6-5MVC
Salukis drop overtime heartbreaker to Panthers
02/09/2020 | 6:55:00 | Women's Basketball
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Four Salukis scored in double figures but it wasn't enough as the Northern Iowa Panthers held on for a 71-66 overtime win inside the McLeod Center.
The Salukis (13-9) led by as many as eight in the second half but the pesky Panthers chipped away, doing most of their work at the charity stripe. The Panthers shot more free throws in the fourth quarter and overtime period (20) than the Salukis did during the entire game (19). In fact, UNI needed just one field goal in the extra period to seal the win, as they went 9-of-10 from the free throw line.
Southern had its chances. Coming out of a timeout down 68-66 with :36 to play in overtime, the Salukis had five put back attempts rim out that would have tied the game with under :10 seconds to play.
"When that happens and you have so many kids batting for the ball and getting chances to tie the game, you know it's not your day," seventh-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "I thought our kids worked their tails hard. We played extremely hard and we battled. As I told them, if we continue to have that kind of fight, we are going to be okay. The most important thing is to bounce back from this."
After a slow start for both teams in the first quarter, the Salukis went to their bench for a lift in the second. Payton McCallister scored all 10 of her points in the period and helped SIU take a 30-28 lead in the half.
"I thought our bench played great in the first half," Stein said. "They did a great job of getting us back into the game. We had really solid play from our kids coming off the bench and we can win a lot of games when we do that."
Southern took its largest lead at 48-40 with 3:03 to play in the third. UNI, however, got Southern's lead down to three, 50-47, at the end of the third and tied the contest 56-all with 3:47 to play in regulation. A layup by Awa Keita gave SIU a three-point lead with 1:54 remaining, but UNI sunk three free throws down the stretch to send the game to overtime.
Southern's offense stagnated in overtime, as it went just 2-of-14 from the field during the period. UNI, aided by its home crowd and a penchant for getting to the free throw line, were able to sneak away with the win despite only shooting once from the floor in the overtime period.
The Salukis were led by Makenzie Silvey, who finished with 16 points and two steals. Brittney Patrick added 13 points, four rebounds and four steals while Nicole Martin added 10 points. Abby Brockmeyer finished two points shy of a double-double with eight points and 11 boards.
Southern tallied double-digit steals for the third-straight game, as it forced 23 UNI turnovers and came away with 14 steals.
The Salukis are back in action on Saturday, Feb. 15 when they travel to Missouri State to take on the Lady Bears. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.
