Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Take on Southern Illinois in Carbondale
12/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2005
Southern Illinois Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
HOOSIER HEADLINES
• Indiana continues its four-game road swing when it takes on Southern Illinois (3-1) in Carbondale, Ill., on Friday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. (CST). The game can be heard locally on WHCC 105.1 with Jeremy Gray calling all the action.
• Head coach Sharon Versyp claimed her 100th victory on Tuesday, Nov. 29, when the Hoosiers defeated Belmont, 68-51. The first-year head coach at IU has compiled an overall record of 100-54 (.649).
• The Hoosiers hold a 10-3 advantage in the all-time series with the Salukis. In their last meeting, IU claimed a 58-44 win on Dec. 7, 1988 in Bloomington.
SCOUTING SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Southern Illinois is 3-1 on the year after suffering its first loss of the season on Tuesday, Nov. 29 to Southeast Missouri State, 74-63. The Salukis finished the 2004-05 season 3-24 and 1-17 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Salukis have three transfers from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) that are leading the way for SIU. Junior Carlai Moore averages 17.8 ppg, while sophomores Jayme Sweere and Erin Pauk both average 14.0 ppg. Sophomore Elyse Morris leads the team in rebounding with 6.5 per contest.
Dana Eikenberg is in her second season as head coach of Southern Illinois. Prior to taking over the Saluki helm, Eikenberg was at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where she compiled an overall record of 38-74. All together, Eikenberg has a 44-99 record. Eikenberg has ties to the Big Ten, as she was a four-year starter at point guard for the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1988-92.
WHAT IT MEANS
An Indiana win would...
Mark its second-straight road win of the season
Give the Hoosiers a 11-3 advantage in the all-time series against Southern Illinois
Be the first time IU claimed back-to-back road wins since last season, when it defeated Maine on Dec. 10 and Boston University on Dec. 12
VERSYP REACHES 100TH CAREER VICTORY MILESTONE
Head Coach Sharon Versyp claimed her 100th career victory on Tuesday, Nov. 29 with a 68-51 win over Belmont. She became just the second IU coach to earn their 100th career victory while coaching at Indiana. Jim Izard, who coached the Hoosiers from 1989-2000, is the only other coach to do this. Izard is also IU's all-time winningest coach with a 188-159 record.
HIGHER SCORING Through its first five games, Indiana is averaging 63.0 points per game, which is 12 points more then it averaged during its first five games of the season in 2004-05. In addition, when the Hoosiers posted 74 points against Youngstown State on Nov. 25, it marked the most points they had scored in a regular season game since Dec. 14, 2002 when it lost to N.C. State, 93-91.
BALANCED SCORING
Against Belmont, Indiana had four players score in double figures (Valentin-18, DeMuth-16, Smith-15 and Hawkins-10). The Hoosiers haven't had this happen since Dec. 14, 2003, when they DeMuth (25), Valentin (20), Annika Boyd (13), Leah Enterline (13) led the charge against N.C. State.
FeelinG it from the free throw line Head Coach Sharon Versyp has stressed the importance of getting to the free throw line and connecting on these opportunities all season long. The Hoosiers have been productive from the charity stripe through its first five games, as they have gone 77-102 (.755). This number ranks third in the conference among other Big Ten teams, behind Michigan (.772) and Northwestern (.762).
FRESHMAN SENSATION
Freshman forward Whitney Thomas has not let first-game jitters get to her in IU's first several games. She currently ranks first on the team in rebounding (7.0 rpg) and fifth in scoring (5.4 ppg). She also is the highest-ranked freshman among Big Ten Players in rebounding, as she ranks tied for seventh.
Most recently, she recorded a double-double of 14 points, 12 rebounds against Notre Dame on Nov. 23 and, despite fouling out with 10 minutes left in the game against Baylor, Thomas still managed score six points and grabbing five rebounds. The Bloomington, Ind., native has started all five of IU's games this season.
SOLID SMITH
Sophomore guard Nikki Smith earned her first career start against then-No. 5/6 Baylor and since then has been a pretty big contributor for the Hoosiers. The Sylvania, Ohio, product set a new career-high in points, when she went 5-of-8 from three points range to finish with 15 points againt Belmont on Nov. 29. She also corralled a career-high five rebounds in her first start against the Lady Bears. Smith has made vast improvemtn from last season, as she saw action in 18 games and averaged only 1.8 ppg.
COUNT ON CYNDI
In IU's season opener against Baylor on Nov. 19, senior guard Cyndi Valentin netted a game-high 25 points, which was five points shy of her career high (30) in which she reached vs. Indiana State on Dec. 6, 2004. Valentin is used to putting up a bulk of Indiana's points as she was the only Hoosier to score 20 points or more in a single game during 2004-05. She posted a total of seven throughout the year. With two under her belt so far this season, Valentin has 20 20+ scoring performances to her name. Indiana's all-time leading scorer, Denise Jackson has the most with 33.
NEXT GAME
Indiana continues with its four-game road swing when it takes on Louisville on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 1 p.m. in Louisville, Ky. The game can be heard locally on WHCC 105.1 with Jeremy Gray calling all the action. Fans can also follow the game on Gametracker.
