SIUC women’s golf coach Diane Daugherty almost always has a positive attitude, and no one can blame her for flashing a little brighter smile since Tuesday afternoon.

After finishing second in four of the last five years, the Salukis captured the Missouri Valley Conference Championship Tuesday with a three-round total of 956.

The Salukis blistered the field with a tournament-best 307 on the final day to come from behind and edge host Wichita State by seven strokes.

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The tournament win was the Salukis’ first MVC crown. SIUC won Gateway Conference titles in 1984, 1986, 1988 and 1990.

I’m just thrilled to death, Daugherty said. I’m just very, very, very happy.

This is the best team I’ve ever had in my 12 seasons at SIUC. We had a couple of great tournaments, including the win at Illinois State (Sept. 7) in the fall. We’ve had a couple of tough weeks recently, but this is great.

Illinois State (973), Northern Iowa (980), Southwest Missouri State (988), Bradley (1,024), Creighton (1,037) and Evansville (1,286) wrapped up the team scores.

SIUC shot rounds of 326 and 323 Monday to finish the day in second place, one shot behind University of Northern Iowa, but the Salukis came storming back Tuesday, led by the play of senior Jamie Smith.

Smith captured individual medalist honors with a 233, including a final-round score of 73. Smith’s individual title marked the first for the Salukis since Tracey Pace captured the honor in 1993.

The going was not smooth for Smith until the back nine. After bogeying the 13th and 14th holes, Smith birdied the par-3, 150-yard 17th hole to seal the Saluki win. The 73 matched her best score in 101 rounds at SIUC and the best third round in school history.

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I can’t say enough about Jamie Smith, Daugherty said. She was upset after playing poorly at Georgia, but I told her, I’m not worried about you.’ I’m glad now that she proved me right.

But Smith’s performance was not the only bright spot for the Salukis. Senior Stacy Skillman wrapped up her career by finishing 10th (244), freshman Jamie Schmidt finished 13th (246), sophomore Andrea Walker finished 14th (247) and freshman Elizabeth Uthoff took 15th (249).

Jami Zimmerman’s final-round 92 did not count toward the team score, but Daugherty said Zimmerman’s second-round effort made the difference between another second-place finish and a chance at the crown.

It was a total team effort, Daugherty said. Jami Zimmerman had been in a little bit of slump since winning at ISU in the fall. She went out and shot a 92 in the first round but came back with a 77, and that was remarkable. That was a 15-shot improvement. She carried us because everyone else shot in the 80s, and she kept us within striking distance.

The Salukis also became one of the few college teams to end its season with a championship. The top four teams from the Salukis’ region will be selected for the NCAA Tournament, but SIUC is sitting outside of the top four.

Thoughts of repeat may not be out of the question either. Although the Salukis lose Smith and Skillman to graduation, Daugherty has recruited two top high school golfers for next season.

We’ve got some great recruits, Daugherty said. I’m really encouraged.