Craig Pearson
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE — Despite the fact that No. 9 seeded Evansville won the Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball tournament last March, Indiana State’s No. 8 seed in the is not an ideal place to be.
A victory today for ISU against No. 9 Southern Illinois sets the Sycamores up to battle top-seeded Illinois State on Friday. The Redbirds had won 15 straight games before a loss to Creighton on Sunday, and coach Robin Pingeton’s team won’t be interested in a repeat of last year’s loss to a low seed. Plus, only nine non-No. 1 seeds have ever won this tournament.
ISU assistant coach Clint Weddle? He’s sticking with a first-things-first approach that has the Sycamores 5-3 since he and assistants Melanie Boeglin and Cammie Campbell took over all coaching duties from suspended Jim Wiedie.
“We are solely worried about Southern Illinois,” Weddle said. “If we earn the right to play Illinois State, we will look forward to playing Illinois State.”
Despite season-ending losses on the road to Creighton and Drake, ISU has built confidence and momentum in the second half of MVC play, Weddle said.
The Sycamores strung five wins together for the first time since their 7-0 start to the season.
“I don’t think it’s a disappointing situation,” Weddle said. “I look at what we’ve been doing the last three or four weeks. We’re not going to hold our head cause we’re playing on Thursday [needing four wins to win the tournament].
“Regardless of where you’re at, you’re going to have to play well to win ball games.”
ISU (16-13, 7-11 MVC) faces a Southern Illinois squad that is just 5-23 overall and 4-14 in the MVC.
ISU swept the season series, winning 63-51 in Hulman Center and 70-62 in SIU Arena.
“We just had two difficult times with them, I’m not sure what it was at their place, we just didn’t play well at all. And then at home, we were in a situation to win the game, but fell apart at the end,” first-year SIU coach Missy Tiber said.
The Salukis are led by senior Christine Presswood in scoring. She averages 15.6 during MVC action, with freshman Teri Oliver adding 13.4 points and Stephany Neptune 12.
Neptune, one of the top rebounders in the MVC, has moved to playing point guard rather than a point forward role.
That change and a good defensive approach has Tiber optimistic going into today’s game.
“They have two really good shooters [Kelsey Luna and Brittany Schoen], and hopefully we can do some things to defray them from getting some easy looks,” Tiber said. “Other than that, we’re going to stay true to our system. I think we’re playing better right now than we have in the past. We’ve shifted Stephany Neptune to a true point guard, and that’s helped us.”
• Luna, Whitley honored by MVC — Senior Kelsey Luna was named second-team All-MVC Wednesday, and Taylor Whitley was named to the All-Freshman squad.
Luna averaged 12.9 points during 18 league games, which put her 14th in the rankings.
“There’s a lot of good players in the league, and Kelsey’s as good as anybody in the league,” Weddle said. “The league is extremely deep and very talented. It’s a wonderful honor for her and for Taylor to be on the All-Freshman team.”
Whitley ranked sixth among MVC freshman in scoring at 9.1 points, but the point guard was third among freshmen in assists (2.5) and second overall in the league in steals (2.3).
“Taylor, from day one, worked very hard in everything we’ve done,” Weddle said. “She’s learned to work hard and work smart at the same time.”
• Cooley earns Good Neighbor Award — Junior Kelsie Cooley has earned the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Good Neighbor Award as Indiana State’s representative on the 10-person list compiled by the league office. Each member institution selects one of its in-season student-athletes for the honor, which is awarded in the fall, winter and spring.
Cooley was also named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Second Team this week and follows in the footsteps of senior Kelsey Luna, who earned the Good Neighbor Award in 2009. Cooley, a native of Beavercreek, Ohio, carries a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in management. She has been named to the Indiana State Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, the MVC Honor Roll and the Dean’s List every semester. Cooley has also earned the MVC Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award.
Cooley is active in the community, volunteering for the Wabash Valley Race for the Cure and the Memory Walk for Alzheimer’s Disease. In addition, she worked with the Wabash Valley Heart Walk, Sycamore Manor and served as coordinator the SAAC Food Drive.
No. 8 ISU vs. No. 9 Southern illinios
Tipoff — Today’s game tips off at 6 p.m.
Broadcasts — TV: None. Radio: WSDM-FM 92.7. Internet: gosycamores.com.
Last time out — ISU lost Saturday at Creighton 66-53. Southern Illinois topped Evansville 65-63 on March 4.
Series — SIU leads 38-34.
The players
Indiana State Sycamores (16-13, 7-11 MVC) — G Taylor Whitley (5-9, Fr., 7.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg), G Kelsey Luna (5-5, Sr., 14.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg), G Brittany Schoen (5-6, So., 9.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg), F Kelsie Cooley (6-1, Jr., 7.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg) and C Shannon Thomas (6-4, So., 8.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg) are the starters. G Deja Mattox (6-0, So., 7.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg), G/F Chelsea Buher (3.6 ppg) and F Moriah Hodge (6-3, Fr., 2.9 ppg) are key reserves.
Coach — Clint Weddle (5-3 in first year at ISU, 40-27 in third year overall), Melanie Boeglin (5-3 in first year at ISU) and Cammie Campbell (5-3 in first year at ISU).
Southern Illinois (5-23, 4-14 MVC) — G Christine Presswood (5-7, Sr., 15.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg), G Teri Oliver (5-9, Fr., 13.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg), F Nneka Nwani (6-0, Jr., 2.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg), F Stephany Neptune (5-9, Sr., 11.5 ppg, 10.9 rpg) and C Katrina Swingler (6-0, Jr., 7.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg) are the starters.
Coach — Missy Tiber (5-23 in her first season at SIU)
Keys to the game
• Take care of the ball. Even in the Sycamores’ losses at Drake and Creighton, they gave themselves a chance to win by limiting empty possessions.
• Rebound the ball. Shannon Thomas and Kelsie Cooley have to lead the way for the Sycamores on the boards.
Tidbit — Indiana State is 9-16 during the history of MVC postseason play.
Next games — The winner of tonight’s game plays at 1 p.m. against Illinois State.
— Craig Pearson
State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament
All times EST
Today
Game 1 — No. 8 Indiana State (16-13, 7-11) vs. No. 9 Southern Illinois (5-23, 4-14), 6 p.m.
Game 2 — No. 7 Drake (14-14, 7-11) vs. No. 10 Evansville (4-25, 1-17), 8:30 p.m.
Friday
Game 3 — No. 1 Illinois State (23-6, 16-2) vs. Winner Game 1, 1 p.m.
Game 4 — No. 4 Bradley (16-12, 12-6) vs. No. 5 UNI (14-15, 10-8), 3:30 p.m.
Game 5 — No. 2 Creighton (18-9, 13-5) vs. Winner of Game 2, 7 p.m.
Game 6 — No. 3 Missouri State (20-9, 12-6) vs. No. 6 Wichita State (16-13, 8-10), 9:30 p.m.
Saturday
Game 7 — Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 6 p.m.
Game 8 — Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday
Championship — Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 3:30 p.m. (Fox Sports Midwest)
