Saluki women whipped twice

SIU women's basketball remains winless in conference play

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It was a long weekend for the SIU women's basketball team.

The Salukis were routed by lower-division conference foes Bradley and Northern Iowa during the weekend. Northern Iowa defeated SIU 83-53 and Bradley blasted the Dawgs. 66-45.

They are still winless in conference play.

Friday's 66-45 loss to Bradley marked the lowest offensive output of the season. Starters Dana Pinkston, Hillary Phillips and Molly McDowell combined to make three of their 23 shot attempts.

As a team, SIU (4-14, 0-9 MVC) shot 23 percent for the game and didn't put a single player in double-figures scoring.

Leading by one midway through the first half, a 10-0 Braves' run gave the home team the lead for good.

Jamie Lugge led the Bradley (8-10, 4-5 MVC) charge in the second half, scoring 13 of her 17 in the final stanza.

Stretches of very poor play again cost the Salukis the game.

"We've done that all year," said SIU coach Lori Opp told the Peoria Journal-Star. "We have big spurts that get us in a very big hole and it's hard to climb out of holes like that against teams that are scrambling, playing good, solid defense.

"That hurt us when we had that big spell in the second half. And then we certainly got in some foul trouble and that changed the way we were able to play."

Leading scorer Molly McDowell was again hampered by fouls, and she eventually fouled out late in the game.

Bradley outscored the Salukis 40-20 in the paint, and only two of the Braves' made shots came from outside 12 feet.

The Salukis, on the other hand, launched outside shots with reckless abandon, attempting 15 second half three-pointers. They only made two of them.

Sunday's game at Northern Iowa played out much differently, but the result was the same.

The Salukis looked to be on the verge of a breakout game at against the Panthers, then reverted back to their usual performance.

The Panthers (10-8, 5-4 MVC) held a three-point lead, 43-40, but a 21-3 explosion over six-plus minutes showed the Salukis why they're firmly planted in the Missouri Valley Conference cellar.

UNI's Katie Miller scored 10 points in that spurt and finished with 24 to lead the Panthers.

SIU shot 5-for-33 in the final stanza and Northern Iowa turned a three-point halftime edge into an 83-53 lambasting, keeping the Salukis winless in conference play.

Tensions boiled over for SIU head coach Lori Opp, who received a technical foul late in the game when she apparently disagreed with a no-call on a Panther block.

Things looked good for the Salukis in the first half. Despite playing much of the first half without McDowell, who picked up her second foul, SIU came back from a eight-point deficit to lead late in the first half and eventually trail by three at the half.

Dana Pinkston's 15 first-half points kept the Salukis in the game. The junior point guard finished with 25, the only Saluki in double figures scoring.

Panther forward Alex Cook recorded her seventh straight double-double at halftime. The sophomore had 10 points and 11 rebounds at the break and ended up with 20 points and 17 rebounds.

SIU will have the entire week off to see what went wrong. Its next game will be Monday, Feb. 10 at home against ninth place Evansville.

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