staff reoprt
The Tribune-Star
ST. CHARLES, MO. — The No. 8 seed Indiana State women’s basketball team earned its first 2010 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament win Thursday night, posting a 73-57 opening-round victory over ninth-seeded Southern Illinois.
The Sycamores improve to 17-13 (7-11 MVC) on the year and advance to a 1 p.m. matchup today against regular-season champion Illinois State.
ISU’s effort marked the team’s first conference tournament win since 2005-06.
Four Sycamores finished in double figures, led by Kelsey Luna’s 20 points. The senior from St. Louis finished 3 for 5 from the field and 12 for 12 from the free-throw line, which tied her career best at the charity stripe. Luna had two 3-pointers, which brings her career total to 264 triples, good for fifth in conference history. She added six assists and two steals, and also had five rebounds in 39 minutes of action.
Sophomore Shannon Thomas achieved her sixth double-double of the year with 13 points and 11 rebounds on the night. She went 5-for-8 from the field and also had a pair of blocks and three steals. In addition, sophomore Brittany Schoen had 11 points on 3-for-4 shooting, and sophomore Deja Mattox totaled 10 points with five rebounds.
As a team, Indiana State shot 43.5 percent (20-for-46) and held SIU to 28.1 percent from the field. The Sycamores also won the battle of the boards, outrebounding the Salukis 42-40.
“I am definitely proud of the way we played tonight,” assistant coach Clint Weddle said. “I want to compliment Southern Illinois; they played a great basketball game, and it was a battle for 40 minutes. [The win] means a lot to our kids. We are just really proud of the way they approached the entire week. We talk about each day being a championship for us, and that’s what that was tonight.”
In the second half, Katrina Swingler hit a 3-pointer at 18:20, but the Sycamores held the Salukis scoreless from the field for the next seven minutes. Thomas then had a three-point play to start ISU’s 13-0 run, going ahead by a 46-34 lead at the first timeout.
Southern Illinois then went on a 13-6 run of its own to cut the game to 52-47 ISU with nine minutes remaining. But a layup and two free throws from Thomas returned the double-digit lead.
n Missouri State’s Garrison takes top honor — Missouri State guard Casey Garrison became just the third sophomore to win the Jackie Stiles MVC Player of the Year award.
Illinois State’s Robin Pingeton was named the MVC Coach of the Year for leading the Redbirds to the conference title.
