Southern Illinois University
5-5,2-3MVC
Missouri State University
9-2,5-0MVC
Shorthanded Salukis hang tough at No. 25 Missouri State
01/27/2021 | 6:55:00 | Women's Basketball
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — After an 18-day COVID layoff, and with only eight dressed players, the Southern Illinois University women's basketball team hung tough with the No. 25 Missouri State Lady Bears Wednesday afternoon inside JQH Arena before the home team pulled away down the stretch to seal a 61-44 win.
The Salukis, who had just one day to prepare its eight active players for the No. 25 Lady Bears, weathered the storm for much of the game and stayed within striking distance despite not shooting particular well.
"We had one day to really work on stuff with our eight players," eighth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "We gritted this game out and I'm really proud of our effort."
Southern shot just 26-percent from the field and 20-percent from three-point range while Missouri State shot 38.9-percent but just 17.8-percent from three. SIU's tired legs reared their ugly head in the second half, as the Salukis netted just 17.1-percent of its shots from the floor, which included just 1-of-11 from behind the arc in the second half.
The Salukis, however, did their best to make up for it on the defensive end and at the charity stripe. SIU held Missouri State to a season-low 21 field goals and the Lady Bears' 61 points was more than 10 points below their season average (72.3 ppg). Southern also shot a season-high 77.8-percent (14-of-18) from the free throw line.
"We knew we would have a fatigue issue and would have to make tired shots," Stein said. "When you battle a fast and physical team like Missouri State, that will happen. I thought if we could hold them to 61 points, we would have a chance to win. We just needed some more shots to go down. We wanted to get to the foul line and we were pretty successful in doing that. But we needed to hit some more shots on the floor."
After Missouri State opened the contest with back-to-back baskets, Southern used a 9-0 spurt to take a 9-4 lead with 5:50 to play in the first. SIU again led, 12-11 on a three by Abby Brockmeyer, but it was Southern's last lead of the contest. The Salukis were able to cut its deficit down to eight, 35-27 with just over six minutes to play in a third quarter that saw the Salukis hold the Lady Bears to just 8-percent (1-of-13) shooting from the field. Unfortunately, that was as close as SIU was able to get.
Southern was led by Abby Brockmeyer, who tallied her 21st career double-double with 13 points ad 11 rebounds. The senior from Raymond, Ill. was battered in the paint for much of the contest but was still able to help Southern keep the battle of the boards close at 38-to-35.
"We battled on the boards really well," Stein said. "Abby Brockmeyer was getting beat up and she held strong. I was happy with the way we rebounded. Coming into this game I thought that would keep us in the game. We felt like that would if we could hold them to one possession that it would be in our favor, especially in the fourth quarter."
Makenzie Silvey added eight points while Payton McCallister and Quierra Love each chipped in seven points.
The Salukis are back in action this weekend with back-to-back games at Loyola. The first game of the two-game series begins on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 1 p.m.
