Southern Illinois University
6-9,3-7MVC
Drake University
11-8,9-3MVC
Women’s Basketball’s upset bid falls just short at Drake
02/11/2021 | 9:25:00 | Women's Basketball
DES MOINES, Iowa — Four Salukis scored in double figures but it wasn't enough as the Drake Bulldogs escaped with a 74-70 win Thursday night inside the Knapp Center.
Southern gave second-place Drake all it could handle and had the Bulldogs on the ropes for most of the contest. SIU led at the end of the first three quarter breaks and built its lead to 13 with 8:44 to go in the third quarter. The pesky Bulldogs chipped away, as they knocked Southern's lead down to six by the end of the third. SIU opened the fourth with a basket off a steal by Payton McCallister to push its lead back to eight, but Drake used a 10-2 run over the next two minutes to tie the contest, 61-all. From that point, the lead seesawed back and forth,with seven lead changes over the next four minutes of play.
McCallister gave SIU its final lead with two of her 10 points on a jumper with 1:44 to go in the fourth that put Southern ahead by one, 70-69. The Salukis got a stop after Adrianna Katcher swatted a Drake layup attempt, but Southern turned the ball right back over. With :40 seconds to play, Makenzie Silvey drove to the basket and kicked it out to Quierra Love for an open look from three, but the ball rattled around and fell out. Grace Berg then gave Drake a two-point lead with a layup ten seconds later, and the Bulldogs forced a turnover on the ensuing SIU possession to seal the comeback win.
"We had some good play and our effort was outstanding all game," eighth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "But we have got to be able to execute down the stretch. Our timing got thrown off when they started to put pressure on us. We've got to be able to control that kind of pressure with screens and other types of pressure release. This is a heartbreaker for us but we have to move on and come up with a better game plan for tomorrow."
The Salukis played as close to a flawless first half as they have all season, despite playing without Abby Brockmeyer for the third-straight game. Southern shot 50-percent from the floor in the half, which included 46.7-percent (7-of-15) from behind the arc. SIU also out-rebounded Drake, 20-to-13 in the stanza, and had 11 second chance points off of nine offensive boards.
The second half, however, was a different story. SIU made two of its first three three-point attempts but went 0-for-6 from downtown after that. Drake turned SIU's nine turnovers into 12 points and were able to get calls down the stretch to squeak out the win. The Salukis shot just two free throws in the game's final 20 minutes, while the Bulldogs went 8-for-10 from the charity stripe during that same stretch.
"I was disappointed in our second half all together from an execution standpoint," Stein said. "We did a lot of uncharacteristic things. It's hard when the details slip away. The second half was a battle for us and we have to get better in those situations."
The Salukis were led by Makenzie Silvey, who finished with a game-high 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting. The two-time All-MVC selection added seven rebounds, three assists and four three-pointers to become just the fourth player in school history with 200-plus career three-pointers.
Gabby Walker scored nine of her 14 points in the second half and finished a rebound shy of a double-double. Rachel Pudlowski added 10 points and six boards while Walker and Pudlowski were a combined 11-of-15 (73-percent) from the field. McCallister chipped in 10 points, two assists and two steals.
The Salukis will look to rebound tomorrow when they close out the series against the Bulldogs at 5 p.m.
