Salukis face Bradley Saturday on the road - Southern Illinois University Official Athletic Site

Salukis face Bradley Saturday on the road

SIU looks to close out first half of MVC play with second Valley win

Sophomore guard Cartaesha Macklin

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Feb. 1, 2013

By Bill Ford
SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Southern Illinois women's basketball team closes the first half of Missouri Valley Conference play Saturday at Bradley.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Feb. 2
Time: 2 p.m. CST
Location: Peoria, Ill.
Site: Renaissance Coliseum (4,200)

Radio: WHET 97.7 FM
Play-by-play by Bryce Williams
Color commentary by Johnny Sole

The Last Meeting

Southern Illinois	67

Bradley	85

March 8, 2012
St. Charles, Mo.

Women's Basketball ends season with 85-67 loss to Bradley
The Southern Illinois women's basketball team's season came to an end with an 85-67 loss to Bradley Thursday night in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

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TEAM FACTS
Southern Illinois Salukis (4-15, 1-7 MVC)
Interim Coach: Adrianne Harlow, First Year (0-3 overall, 0-3 at SIU)
Bradley (8-11, 2-6 MVC)
Head Coach: Mike Brooks, First Year (13-36 overall, 8-11 at Bradley)

SIU VS. BRADLEY
SIU leads its all-time series with Bradley 41-22, but the Braves have won nine straight meetings. Bradley enters the matchup at 8-11 and 2-6 in the MVC. The Braves topped Evansville 78-52 Thursday to move out of a tie with the Salukis for 9th place in the Valley. Katie Yohn led Bradley with 21 points and six assists in the win over the Purple Aces. Shronda Butts leads the Braves on the season with an average of 13.1 points per game while Catie O'Leary averages 11.2 points, Kelsey Budd averages 10.8 points and Yohn averages 10.2 points per game. O'Leary is Bradley's top rebounder at 7.4 per game while Butts averages a team-best 3.7 assists per game. The Braves have the top scoring offense in the MVC with an average of 71.7 points per game, but Bradley surrenders an average of 71.8 points per game.

LAST TIME THEY MET
SIU dropped three games against Bradley last season with two regular season losses and a loss in the opening round of the MVC Tournament. Bradley topped the Salukis 72-59 in Carbondale behind 18 points and eight rebounds from center Leah Kassing. Cartaesha Macklin led Southern's scoring effort with 19 points. The Braves won the return trip 66-50 in Peoria, Ill., after out-rebounding the Salukis 55-33. MacKenzie Westcott had 15 points and 13 rebounds for Bradley while Kassing had 13 points and 11 boards. Macklin led SIU with 12 points. The two teams were whistled for a combined 50 fouls in the affair. The Braves knocked the Salukis out of the MVC Tournament with a 85-67 win in St. Charles, Mo. Shronda Butts led five Braves in double figures with 17 points while Teri Oliver led SIU with 21 points.

LEADING THE SALUKIS
Sophomore guard Cartaesha Macklin leads SIU and ranks sixth in the MVC with an average of 14.0 points per game while freshman guard Rishonda Napier is second on the team at 11.7 points per game. Freshman center Dyana Pierre ranks second in the MVC in rebounding at 8.6 per game and blocks at 1.2 per game. Macklin leads the Salukis and ranks second in the Valley with an average of 3.9 assists per game.

UNI DOWNS SALUKIS 76-59
Continuing struggles on the glass and UNI's hot 3-point shooting stretches hurt SIU in a loss Thursday night in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Panthers out-rebounded the Salukis 46-29, scoring 17 second-chance points off 19 offensive rebounds. UNI also hit nine 3-pointers compared with SIU's three, often knocking down multiple treys during long scoring runs. Southern also struggled from the free throw line, hitting just 10-of-19 for 52.6 percent. Cartaesha Macklin led SIU with 17 points and five assists while Rishonda Napier added 12 points and Ariel Haynes chipped in seven rebounds. Jacqui Kalin led UNI with 20 points while Hannah Schonhardt added 15 points and nine rebounds.

SALUKIS VS. THE STATE
Southern played three non-conference games against in-state opponents (Chicago State, Loyola-Chicago and SIU Edwardsville). Along with its conference matchups against Bradley and Illinois State, the Salukis will play seven total games in Illinois this year. SIU is 229-139 all-time against other Illinois schools, including 2-2 this season.

TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF?
The Salukis have had season lows in turnovers in their past two games. Last Saturday's game against Missouri State marked the first time in 2012-13 the Salukis haven't had more turnovers than assists. Southern finished with an even 15 assists and 15 turnovers against the Lady Bears. SIU posted a new season low in turnovers with 14 Thursday at UNI.