Since every Missouri Valley Conference womens basketball team has at least one league loss just three weeks into the conference season, even teams that have struggled out of the gate believe they have a chance to be a factor in the race. Two of those teams, Illinois State at 3-11, 1-4 in the Valley, and Southern Illinois, 4-9, 0-5, meet Thursday in Carbondale.
Both coaches agree that a win could jump-start their teams into more success.
Our players see this game as an opportunity for us, said Redbird coach Jenny Yopp, whose team got its first conference win Thursday against Southwest Missouri State. I think a lot of it will be about who wants it (a win) more.
This is a huge game for us, said Saluki coach Lori Opp, whose last league win was Feb. 21, 2002 vs. Northern Iowa. Our confidence needs a win. Were learning from our mistakes and continuously improving.
The Salukis are led--in nearly every statistical category--by senior guard Molly McDowell, who averages 12.2 points, while topping her team in assists, steals, blocks, three-point field goals made and free throw percentage. A year ago, each team won on the opponents court. Illinois State erased an 11-point second-half deficit with some stifling defense to win 69-67 Jan. 20 in Carbondale behind Stacey Whites 16 points. McDowell set the tone for the 64-51 Saluki win Feb. 22 in Normal by hitting her first six field goals on the way to a 22-point performance.
Molly does a lot of things for them, said Yopp, whose team has held the top scorer from all five Valley opponents below her average this season. Every team in the league has at least one outstanding scorer and we take pride in limiting those players. But Southern has other players, like (Dana) Pinkston and Danette Jones, who can do the job if you dont play good team defense.
Opp thinks Redbird guards Taren OBrien and Katie Donovan set the tone for Illinois State. OBrien leads the Birds in scoring (10.2) and Donovan leads in rebounding (5.7).
We have to do the job on Taren OBrien and Katie Donovan and take care of the boards, said Opp, whose team has lost six straight since a Dec. 20 win over Mercer. Mostly, I see this as an offensive battle. We both have the capability of scoring a lot of points. We have to take care of the ball and take care of the boards as well.
The Redbird road trip, which concludes with a 2 p.m. Saturday match at Evansville, is a homecoming of sorts for Redbird freshman guard Sara Stevenson, who has become a key factor coming off the strong Redbird bench. She is a native of Olney--110 miles northeast of Carbondale and 75 miles north of Evansville. Stevensons jumper with 1:23 left--her only shot of the game--put the Birds ahead to stay in a 68-64 win over Southern Illinois. Two days later against Wichita State, she had six points and six rebound in a season-high 25 minutes.
The best thing about Sara is that she doesnt make mistakes, said Yopp. She had just one turnover (in each of those games).
