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Shorthanded Salukis fight through fatigue

Salukis are bred for endurance by definition, and the Salukis of the women's basketball team were no exception Sunday afternoon.

With only six healthy players on an already meager roster of nine women, the Salukis pulled out a 77-69 victory against St. Louis Goldstar in their first and only exhibition game.

Freshman Rachel Boldt, junior Amy Hayden and senior Lecretia Akines were all sidelined coming into Sunday's game. Boldt had a stress fracture, Hayden strained a tendon in her shin and Akines dislocated her left thumb.

Despite the absences, the Salukis rallied and did not tire. Seniors Daphne Desamours and Danette Jones both played the entire 40 minutes. Senior Wendy Goodman played 32 minutes, sophomore Bernettra Grayer played 30 minutes and redshirt freshman Elyse Morris saw 38 minutes of action.

The only Saluki to see less than a half hour of game time was true freshman India Bruster - she played for 20 minutes.

The game started well for the Salukis with Jones draining one of her five three-pointers of the game to give SIU the lead less than a minute in. But Goldstar's Korena Sundell answered right back with one of her own.

The first half was back and forth between the two teams until the Salukis began showing signs of exhaustion with around six minutes left.

A 28-point tie began to dissolve into a game of catch-up for the Salukis. A foul by Bruster led to two successful free throws by Goldstar's Stretch James, who subsequently sunk a jumper to widen the gap 32-28.

Two more fouls and an errant pass from Goodman led to a turnover as Goldstar began to jog away with the game.

Although the Salukis grabbed 27 rebounds to Goldstar's 18 in the first half, the turnovers and rushed shots began to plague the SIU.

Eight turnovers and a 35.9 percent field goal percentage led to a widening gap between the two teams as the second half wore on, something Eikenberg addressed after the game.

"I definitely think it's a fatigue factor," Eikenberg said. "It's mental things like that we're trying to focus on in practice and make better decisions."

After 20 minutes of play the Salukis were faced with an eight-point deficit, 42-34, but the second half saw a renewed team of Salukis with plenty of fight left in them.

"We came out and focused on controlling the tempo," Jones said.

The Salukis displayed more control with the ball, passing efficiently and carefully selecting shots. The shot clock became a tool for SIU, whereas in the past it often seemed to induce panic.

The tide began to turn when Jones nailed a three-pointer from a foot and a half behind the line with less than 11 minutes to go. She shot 50 percent ,5-of-10, from the arc.

SIU walked away with a win meaning nothing on paper, but meaning everything to the six women who had fought for 40 minutes.

Last season, a whole team of Salukis narrowly beat Goldstar by only two points. This season, plagued by injury, SIU women's basketball overcame an eight-point deficit at the half to win by eight.

Eikenberg, despite saying there was much room for improvement, was pleased with the effort put forth by the Salukis.

"They did some of the little things they have been working so doggone hard at," Eikenberg said. "They know there hasn't been much success, but they're working hard to change that."