Jan. 19, 2012
Final Stats
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois used a 20-3 second-half run to turn an eight-point deficit into a nine-point lead and held off Missouri State late to earn a 78-72 victory over the Lady Bears and snap a 24-game Missouri Valley Conference losing streak Thursday at SIU Arena.
Missouri State's (10-6, 3-3) three-point halftime lead had been cut to one at 48-47 when Christiana Shorter converted a three-point play, Jaleshia Roberson hit two free throws and Lacey Boshe scored a putback layup for a 7-0 run and 55-47 lead with 12:07 remaining.
The Salukis (4-13, 1-6) took over from there, going on an 11-0 run in just 2:07 of game time to lead 58-55 and extending the run to 20-3 and their lead to 67-58 with 5:18 left to play.
Shorter hit four consecutive free throws to pull MSU within 67-62 and Teri Oliver answered with her school-record seventh three-pointer to make it 70-62. Missouri State scratched and clawed, eventually closing to within one possession on Karly Buer's bucket with 56 seconds left that made it 75-72, but SIU was bailed out by an MSU foul to end the next possession and made two free throws that sealed it.
The Lady Bears shot just 9-of-31 in the second half and 39 percent in the game, losing for the first time this season when scoring 70 points. SIU shot 48 percent for the game and buried 11 three-pointers while MSU went 0-for-11 from beyond the arc.
Oliver led all scorers with 28 points, going 7-for-8 from three-point land. Shorter scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for her second consecutive double-double, while Casey Garrison scored 20 with eight rebounds and Buer added a season-best 10 points.
Missouri State led the rebounding battle 44-41, including 21 offensive boards, and committed 16 turnovers to 23 for the Salukis.
Shorter and Oliver battled to the first media timeout, each scoring six points with Shorter adding five early rebounds as the Salukis led 9-7. Southern Illinois scored four straight out of the timeout to lead 13-7 and Garrison hit a long two-pointer at the 11:54 mark for a 15-15 tie.
Oliver drained her third and fourth treys of the half to help SIU lead 21-17, and Garrison again scored for the tie at 23-all before Karly Buer gave the Lady Bears their first lead since 4-3 with a bucket for a 25-23 advantage.
The Salukis briefly regained the lead with a triple before Shorter's layup sparked a 10-0 Missouri State run that saw four different players score over the next 2:43 for a 35-26 advantage. SIU responded with a 7-1 run to close the gap to 36-33 with 1:34 left in the half, and Oliver buried a fifth three-pointer with 1:13 on the clock for a 38-36 score in favor of the Lady Bears. MSU hit two free throw to one for SIU in the final minute for a 40-37 halftime lead.
The Lady Bears withstood 7-of-11 three-point shooting by the Salukis in the first half compared to 0-for-4 themselves by forcing 13 turnovers and shooting 18-of-38 overall.
Missouri State plays at Evansville (4-14, 1-6) at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Purple Aces lost 57-51 at home to Wichita State Thursday.
