On the heels of an 84-80 win at Evansville, the Illinois State women's basketball team tries to extend its current winning streak to three games in a 2:05 p.m. Saturday match-up at Southern Illinois.
Coach Robin Pingeton, whose team is 13-8 overall, 7-5 in the Missouri Valley, is leery of a Southern Illinois team that rung-up a season-high point total in a 98-84 loss to Indiana State Thursday. The Salukis, 3-17 overall, 2-10 in the Valley, have lost nine straight.
"This time of year, every team is trying to pick up a win; trying to get something going," said Pingeton. "Every team is dangerous, especially on the road. We had to tough that one (at Evansville) out, but that's what you have to do this time of the season."
In addition to the physical battle at Evansville, Pingeton's team had an emotional battle because starters Jaci McCormack, Zora Skrabalova and Taren O'Brien all spent significant time on the bench with foul trouble.
While Pingeton had said earlier in the week she needed to use her bench players more, the foul trouble forced her hand. Fortunately, the subs stepped up as Beth Huston scored a career-high 13 points and Sophie Tirtiaux matched her season's Missouri Valley Conference scoring total with 7, all in the first half. ISU's bench players scored 18 of the 'Birds' 44 first-half points
"We had some players really step up," said Pingeton, who also got a 10-point, 7-rebound, 3-three-point field goal performance from starter Erin Keeney, who bounced out of a 3-for-17 three-point shooting slump with 3-for-5 at UE.
The Salukis were averaging just 58.7 points per game before the barrage against Indiana State, which included 22 points from guard Daphney Desamours, who had scored just 68 in SIU's first 19 games of the season. Dana Pinkston had 6 three-pointers among her 21 points and Katie Berwanger used five offensive rebounds to score 20. Pinkston is the only Saluki averaging in double figures this season with 10.8.
Just a 31 percent team from three-point range averaging just 4.0 treys per game, SIU hit 11 of 19 from beyond the arc and shot a season-best .552 fromt he field against the Sycamores.
The Redbirds, led by Katie Donovan's 21.6 points per game--No. 6 in the nation--can assure their first .500 or better season since 1996-97 with a win. They also have a chance to prove they can win on Saturday; ISU is 0-4 on Saturday this season, 13-4 every other day. A win at SIU would make the Redbirds 3-1 in February. Over the previous six seasons, Illinois State teams were 8-35 combined in February and March.
This is the second of three straight road games before the Redbirds come home for a special 8:05 p.m. game against SMS Feb. 26 at Redbird Arena.
