2008 Woodie Awards
Saluki women open tournament with a 65-54 win
SIU will take on Illinois State at 12:05 p.m. Friday
Matt Hartwig
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St. Charles, Mo. --- Even at the height of its Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship in 2006-07, the SIU women's basketball team never accomplished this.
The Salukis cruised to a dominating 65-54 win against Bradley in the opening game of the MVC Tournament at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo., Thursday.
With a 33-27 lead at halftime, SIU (10-19, 5-13 MVC) didn't have reason to worry thanks to the strong offensive games from junior guard Erica Smith and junior forward Jasmine Gibson.
Smith, an MVC all-defensive team selection had 11 points and eight rebounds while Gibson added a team-high 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Most of Smith's points came off the Braves' 12 turnovers as the Salukis held Bradley's offense to 27 percent shooting in the second half.
Smith, who tied senior guard Jayme Sweere with a team-high four blocks, said the strong defense was a credit to the entire team.
"We were able to get into the passing lanes and get in front of everybody," she said.
Although SIU led for the majority of the game, senior guard Erin Pauk's 3-pointer with 8:07 to play ended any chance of a Braves (12-18, 6-12) comeback.
The shot gave the Salukis a 15-point advantage as well as their biggest lead of the game.
Pauk, a St. Charles, Mo. native, finished with 12 points.
With 30 seconds left, Bradley senior Devyn Flanagan guard cut the lead to nine with a free throw but it wouldn't get them any closer.
SIU won the battle of the boards 45-43 due to Gibson's strong presence in the paint and improved to 1-2 versus the Braves this season.
Gibson said rebounding was the main focus in practice this week in preparation for the post players of Bradley
"Our big goal was to keep them off the boards and that was my job," she said.
SIU returns to the Family Arena Friday for a 12:05 p.m. tip with Illinois State, the tournament's No. 1 seed.
Both teams split the season series with the Salukis winning recently in Normal 72-69 on March 6.
"I'm sure Illinois State wants some revenge but there really isn't anything you can do about that at this time of year," Saluki coach Dana Eikenberg said. "We really don't have anything to lose."
Eikenberg's attitude may serve the team well if the 2007 MVC Tournament was any indication.
SIU was the No. 1 seed but fell to the No. 8 seed Drake 59-47. Drake went on to win the tournament and clinch the MVC's automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament.
Matt Hartwig can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 282 or at mhartwig@siu.edu
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