By ISU Sports Information
CARBONDALE – A furious fourth-quarter comeback fueled by freshman Shakeela Fowler cut into a double digit lead held by Southern Illinois, however Illinois State came up a bit short as the Redbirds (5-15, 3-6 MVC) fell to the Salukis (13-8, 6-3 MVC) by a score of 76-71 at SIU Arena Sunday afternoon.
Fowler led four Redbirds in double figures with 15 points, thanks to a pair of late three-pointers, and dished out three assists for the Redbirds. Seniors Octavia Crump and Colleene Smith chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively, and Viria Livingston added 12 points as well in a balanced scoring effort for ISU against the Salukis.
“In the second quarter, it took a second to get adjusted as they switched defenses and in the interim they were scoring and we weren’t and that really made the difference,” ISU head coach Barb Smith said. “I loved the way our team came back and fought to get it close again and their fight the whole game. A few key turnovers in key moments and a few offensive rebounds that led to baskets swung the game in favor of SIU, but I can see this team growing and getting better each game.”
The Salukis jumped out to a 9-6 advantage early on, before the Redbirds wend on a 9-2 run to take a 15-11 lead halfway through the first quarter. A pair of transition layups by Smith and another by Livingston put the Redbirds up 12-9 and after an SIU basket, Fowler drained a three-pointer to extend their advantage to 15-11 at the first media time out. Illinois State’s lead grew to as many as six points after a jumper by Millie Stevens made the score 17-11, but the Salukis closed the gap to 21-19 at the end of the first quarter of play.
SIU continued its roll into the second quarter, extending its run to 14-2 to take a 28-21 lead after a jumper by Rishonda Napier with 6:06 left in the second quarter. ISU was held scoreless for the first five-plus minutes of the quarter, until Smith made a layup with 4:17 left before halftime to make the score 30-23 and Crump would add a basket to trim the lead to five at 30-25 just seconds later. A three-pointer in transition by Katrina Beck off a steal by Smith would then cut the lead to a basket at 30-28 with 2:45 to play. The Salukis finished the half on a 5-0 run to take a seven point lead into the locker room at 35-28.
Illinois State was able to trim the lead to four points early in the third quarter, but the Salukis were able to extend the lead to 47-35 halfway through the period. The Redbirds later cut that lead in half at 49-43 after a three-pointer by Livingston from the corner with three minutes left in the third quarter. A three-pointer by Napier with just over a minute left on the clock would widen the lead back out to 54-45, before Livingston made a pair of free throws to trim the lead to 54-47. Napier connected again from three point range just before the buzzer to stake the Salukis to a 10-point lead at 57-47 headed to the final quarter of action.
A 7-2 run by the Salukis widened the lead to 64-49, before five-straight points on a jumper by Crump and a three-pointer by Stewart cut the deficit back to 10 points at 64-54 for the Redbirds. A three-point play by Napier extended the Saluki lead to 68-54 with 3:24 left to go, as the Redbirds were held scoreless for over three minutes of action.
Following the final media time out of the game, Livingston drilled a three-pointer from the corner to make the score 70-58 in favor of the Salukis with 1:28 left in the game. After a turnover on the ensuing in-bounds play, Fowler connected from three-point range to trim the SIU lead to single digits at 70-61. The Redbird defense forced a stop on the other end of the floor and Fowler came down the floor and drilled another three-pointer to trim the deficit to just six points at 70-64 with 44.6 seconds left on the clock.
Two free throws by the Salukis were answered by a jumper from Smith to make the score 72-66, as SIU called its final time out of the game with 28.2 left on the clock. A basket by Livingston on a miss by Beck then cut the lead back to 74-68, but she was hurt on the play and Taylor Stewart came in to clean up the three-point play and make the score 74-69. The Salukis would hold on the rest of the way to come out with the 76-71 win.
