Dyana Pierre had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the Southern Illinois women's basketball team scored the final eight points in a 75-66 victory over Morehead State at Johnson Arena Tuesday night (Dec. 30).
SIU, a Missouri Valley Conference squad which won all five of its games against Ohio Valley Conference opponents this season, improved to 7-4 overall and evened the all-time series with MSU, 1-1. The Eagles fell for the fourth straight game and dipped to 4-9 overall.
"We knew we had a huge challenge ahead of us tonight," Head Coach Greg Todd said. "I don't think the final score was indicative of the overall game. It was a one-point game with less than two minutes left, and things didn't fall our way."
Morehead State trailed 67-66 with 1:57 left following two free throws by freshman forward Eriel McKee. MSU missed two three-pointers and turned the ball over twice, while the Salukis knocked down a pair of triples in the final 1:20.
Southern Illinois, which shot 59 percent (16-of-27) in the second half, got a game-high 20 points from Rishonda Napier. Azia Washington added 12, and Cartaesha Macklin dropped in 11. SIU connected on eight three-pointers.
Morehead State forced 20 turnovers but managed to shoot only 37 percent (23-of-63) for the game, including 33 percent (11-of-33) in the second period. The visitors also won the rebound battle, 43-34.
Senior guard Almesha Jones led the Eagles with 17 points and nine assists. The nation's leader in assists upped her season total to 106. Three others, sophomore forward Shay Steele (12), McKee (11) and junior guard Natalie Greenwell (10), also scored in double figures. McKee has now reached double digits in all 10 collegiate games. Steele completed her third career double-double and first this season with 11 rebounds.
"We were a little short-handed tonight," Todd added. "That is certainly not an excuse, but Eriel normally plays about 37 or 38 minutes. She was a little under the weather, and (senior forward) Casey Ryans couldn't play tonight either due to illness. We are going to keep fighting though, and hopefully as we get into conference play, some positive things will happen."
The host team trailed 27-16 with 7:41 remaining in the opening half but outscored SIU 22-7 down the stretch to take a 38-34 cushion at the break.
Morehead State held a 44-42 lead with 17:12 left in the contest before SIU's Kylie Giebelhausen drained a pair of three-pointers and Washington added a bucket. The Salukis pushed ahead 50-44 and never trailed again.
Morehead State opens OVC action on Saturday (Jan. 3) versus Murray State at 5:15 p.m. The game, coupled with the MSU men's contest against Murray that will follow, will feature the “Hoop and Holler for a Dollar” promotion. All upper-level and bleacher seats are only $1.00 each.
