Salukis want no celebrations on their courtKyle MeansDaily Egyptian
Usually when a team with 14 conference wins plays one with only five early in March, the team with the better record can overlook the lesser team.
The SIU women's basketball team is hoping that will be the case when Indiana State comes to the SIU Arena tonight.
Indiana State's (22-4, 14-2) urgency to win may not be strong, as they have already secured a share of the Missouri Valley Conference title, but the fact that they are still not outright champions could fuel the Sycamores. Indiana State's last game was a tough 70-65 loss to Drake that ended the Sycamores' 10-game winning streak at home.
SIU head coach Dana Eikenberg won't be surprised by any effort Indiana State provides, as she will be facing one of her former teams. Eikenberg was an assistant on the Sycamore staff from 1995-97. She believes that the Drake loss could be a wake up that'll have Indiana State's eyes wide open against the Salukis (9-16, 5-11).
"We got to do a lot of things right, the stars got to be aligned," Eikenberg said. "You got to hope that maybe Indiana State isn't as focused on us, but I'm sure coach (Jim) Wiedie after Sunday's loss has gotten their attention loud and clear. They've got something to prove as well."
The Sycamores are two games ahead of second place Northern Iowa, and a win at SIU will give them the MVC title regardless of what UNI does in its game at Drake tonight. Being able to ruin Indiana State's celebration is enough motivation for SIU.
"To beat the MVC champs, to have them lose at our home; that's what's going to get us to go," junior Carlai Moore said. "We don't want them to come out of our house with the win."
Moore believes that her team's willingness to put up a fight against Indiana State could help them pull off the win, but SIU will have one less player as freshman center Gentry Dietz suffered a season-ending injury in practice Wednesday.
"It's a broken metatarsal bone in her left foot," Eikenberg said. "It'll be a hit for us. It'll be a big loss, and I'm sad for Gentry because she's done a really good job this year."
In the past three games Dietz showed her ability as a rebounder, averaging more than 7 boards a game and also had a career high 11 in SIU's win over Creighton Feb. 17. The loss of Dietz does no favors for a team that has been battling injuries throughout the MVC season. Eikenberg knows how important it is to have each one of her players at the ready.
"We got a team that we've talked about all year needs 11 people in order for us to be good," Eikenberg said.
SIU could only imagine what it'll be like to have all of their post players against an Indiana State team that size-wise doesn't dominate the Salukis. Dietz wasn't available in the first game this season versus the Sycamores, a 74-61 loss in December. SIU had to rely on Moore's 18 points in that game as freshmen Jasmine Gibson and Teresa Parker put up eight points combined.
"They can play one-on-one or they can throw doubles," Moore said. "With their match zone that they're playing I think they'll pay attention to a lot of us."
Indiana State's starters weren't much better than SIU's, but they got 22 points off the bench from forwards Ashley Clark and Laura Rudolphi. What really did SIU in was the performance of the Sycamore's star guard Melanie Boeglin. The senior, a leading MVC player of the year candidate, put up 28 points on 12-of-21 shooting.
For Moore, the way that Boeglin plays together with her big players is what makes them tough. Moore says that disrupting their cohesion will be another key to the upset.
"(Indiana State's) posts they have that mid-range game," Moore said. "If (Boeglin) can get a drive and get an opening then that's where her assists come from. I think their bigs are nothing we should overlook."
