SIU women look to get back on track

If the SIU women's basketball team still wants to achieve its goal of a sixth place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference, it had better get its first conference win soon.

But that won't come easy, as the Salukis will have to take on a full-court pressing, run-and-gun Creighton team Thursday.

The Bluejays (9-4, 2-2 MVC) are attempting to rebound from two road losses decided by a combined three points while SIU is still trying to find the win column in conference play after losing its first three MVC games.

The two teams will square off Thursday night at 7:05 at Omaha Civic Auditorium and Creighton's full-court defense could be crucial in deciding the outcome of the game.

"We're not as good offensively if we can't turn people over in our full-court defense," said Creighton head coach Jim Flanery, who's in his first year as head coach after spending 10 years as a Creighton assistant.

But the Salukis (4-7, 0-3 MVC) feel confident playing against the Bluejay press they describe as similar to their own.

"If we run our press break against them and just really look to get the ball up the floor, I don't think we'll have any problems with it," said senior guard Molly McDowell, SIU's leader in scoring and numerous other offensive categories.

The press could also speed up the game, which would hamper forward Tiffany Crutcher's ability to help the Salukis exploit their superior size inside.

Crutcher played only three minutes in SIU's last game Saturday against Evansville because of a foot injury that limited her effectiveness in the fast-paced 95-85 Saluki loss.

But if she can play, Crutcher could dominate in the paint.

"Creighton's not as strong inside," Crutcher said. "They're more of a shooting oriented team."

Because of their style of play, Creighton has, as basketball analyst Clark Kellogg would say, "spurtability."

But SIU has the ability to weather these spurts, as evidenced by its big deficits and its ability to fight through those.

"Unfortunately we're a team that is used to teams making runs on us and we've always come back," said SIU head coach Lori Opp.

Bringing much of that spurtability to the Bluejay offense is the backcourt trio of Christy Neneman, Laura Spanheimer and Dayna Finch.

Neneman, who leads her team in scoring, assists and rebounding at 5-foot-10, earned the conference's player of the year honors last year as a sophomore.

She was just the second sophomore ever to be named player of the year, the other being former SMS phenom Jackie Stiles, now starring for the WNBA's Portland Fire.

Spanheimer, a sophomore point guard, averages more than 12 points per game. The lightning-quick floor general also shoots 53 percent from three-point range for the Bluejays, who lead the league with nearly eight treys per game.

A 5-foot-6 junior guard, Finch gives her team a third legitimate scoring threat.

But the key to the Salukis' offensive success is a guard of their own.

Flanery said stopping McDowell, who scored 35 in her last outing, is important for Creighton to snap its two-game losing streak.

"Having her play well probably gives the rest of her team a lot of confidence," Flanery said.

Saluki forward Jodi Heiden and point guard Dana Pinkston will have to have some confidence as well. Pinkston will be key in handling the pressure, and Heiden will have to turn her three-inch height advantage into points and rebounds.

"Heiden at the four spot is going to be significantly taller and stronger than our four player," Flanery said, adding that his team is used to being outsized. "That's why we try to play up and down."

And Creighton will have a little extra motivation to keep the Salukis winless in conference play. The Bluejays, who were picked to repeat as conference champs, now sit in fifth place at 2-2.

"I was worried about a little bit of a hangover effect," Flanery said. "But we've practiced well and our spirits seem to be good. We wouldn't have won the league last year if we didn't have some toughness."

But Crutcher believes that the Salukis will reap the benefits of their relentlessness this weekend.

"We're ready for a win," Crutcher said. "We've been working hard. I think it's going to come this weekend, definitely."

Reporter Ethan Erickson can be reached at eerickson@dailyegyptian.com