Southern Illinois University
1-4,0-0MVC
Lehigh
2-4,0-0Patriot
Salukis grab first win at Christmas City Classic
11/26/2022 | 2:26:00 | Women's Basketball
Bond-White earns her first win as Salukis look toward Kent State
BETHLEHEM, PA. — The Southern Illinois Women's Basketball team climbed two mountains on Saturday in Bethlehem, Pa.
One was taming the hot shooting of the Lehigh Mountain Hawks but the other was overcoming a four-game skid to start the season and the head coaching career of Kelly Bond-White.
Southern took down the host Lehigh, 87-81, at the Christmas City Classic opener inside Stabler Arena, setting up a matchup with Kent State at 1:30 p.m. CST Sunday for the tournament title.
Bond-White now has a win next to her name but she told her team after the game to enjoy it and then look forward to the next game.
"Those kids deserved that," she said. "I wanted it so bad for them. Even though we knew we scheduled a tough schedule and our kids stayed faithful. It is hard."
Prior to the game, Bond-White asked her team what they needed to come out on top.
They told her energy, staying together and staying positive.
She said she not only challenged herself but her coaches to follow suit.
"I don't have a voice but I'll give you everything I got," she said to them.
Energy came into play from the tip as the Salukis and Lehigh were tied 19-19 at the end of the first after a Tyranny Brown 3-pointer was waved off at the buzzer.
Southern then took the lead in the second and were up 41-40 at the break.
The Salukis never looked back.
Lehigh made it interesting in the fourth but with five players in double figures and a season-high eight assists from Ashley Jones, the Salukis were able to get their first win in Jones' home state.
Jones finished with a team-high 16 points as Laniah Randle (13 points), Jaidynn Mason (13 points), Promise Taylor (11 points) and Tamara Nard (11 points) all delivered for the Dawgs. Tyranny Brown and Aja Holmes each added eight points for the Salukis.
Randle's 13 points paired with 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.
"We got the offensive firepower and they're starting to believe in each other," Bond-White said.
On the defensive end, the Salukis had 18 steals as Lehigh just had two on its defensive end.
Lehigh was led by sharpshooter Mackenzie Kramer who finished with a game-high 28 points.
Kramer scored 18 in the first half but was shutout in the third quarter, giving the Salukis the edge they needed to get the win.
Frannie Hottinger (21 points) and Ella Stemmer (11 points) also finished in double digits for the Mountain Hawks.
Southern now looks to Kent State as the Golden Flashes for the Christmas City Classic title.
Kent State beat Quinnipiac 58-55 in Saturday's second semifinal at Stabler Arena.
Southern Illinois (1-4) vs Kent State (3-2)
Kent State comes into the matchup winners of back-to-back games, including a 59-56 win over Big 12 foe, Oklahoma State.
Prior to their last two wins, the Golden Flashes beat Northern Kentucky (77-54) and have losses against Florida State (80-71) and Arkansas (80-59).
Katie Shumate leads the Golden Flashes at 13.2 ppg while Lindsey Thall is right behind her at 12.2 ppg. Bridget Dunn leads Kent State on the boards with 6.4 rpg.
Kent State was 19-12 last season and has a familiar face on the sideline in Todd Starkey as he enters his seventh year at the helm of the Golden Flashes.
Sunday's matchup will be the first-ever for Southern Illinois and Kent State.
The action starts at 1:30 p.m. CST inside Stabler Arena where the Salukis and Golden Flashes will battle it out for the Christmas City Classic crown.
