SIUC senior center Theia Hudson is unconcerned with the number of points she has in her career, even though she is approaching 1,000 points.

I’ll just be happy to get it over with, Hudson said.

Hudson is in her fourth year at SIUC and has 983 points in her Saluki career. When she reaches 1,000 points, she will become the 16th player to reach 1,000 points in SIUC history.

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Hudson came to SIUC in 1994 after leading Bloom Township High School in Chicago to a sectional title. She averaged 19.1 points per game and 10.8 rebounds. She was a 1,000-point scorer in high school as well.

After joining the Salukis, she improved her totals year after year. In her second year with the Salukis, she led the SIUC in field goal percentage by shooting 56 percent from the field. Currently, she is the Salukis’ leading scorer with 13.2 points per game and 6.2 boards per game.

Women’s head coach Cindy Scott said Hudson is a winner as a person and a ball player. It is her attitude that has made her a success at SIUC.

Theia has had an outstanding career here, and I think it will be good for her to finish on a good note, Scott said. She is a nice person to be around and is a good student. I know she will be successful, and I have seen her improve so much as a basketball player.

Scott would like to see Hudson get her 1,000th point at home to share the accomplishment with the Saluki fans who have watched her play.

Hudson will have that chance to score the remaining 17 points at home when the Salukis begin a three-game home stretch tonight against the University of Evansville.

Evansville has yet to win a game in the Missouri Valley Conference. They are 0-11 in conference play and 5-14 overall.

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The Aces started 5-0 but have sustained a 14-game skid the Salukis would like to increase to 15. Evansville is in last place in the MVC, but Scott said they can give good teams fits.

I don’t think anytime is a good time to play them, Scott said. They are due to win. What goes around comes around.

Sophomore center Melaniece Bardley said the Salukis are struggling too and need to take every game seriously regardless of who they play.

I think [the Aces] play hard every game, Bardley said. We need a lot of confidence whoever we play, whether it is Drake (No. 1 in the MVC) or Evansville.

Freshman Shyla McKibbon will be back in the Aces’ starting lineup after battling mononucleosis. McKibbon is averaging 12.8 points per game and 7.7 boards per game, which is good enough for second in the MVC. Her 66 offensive boards for the season is tops in the MVC.

The Salukis come into tonight’s game with a two-game winning streak and are looking to improve their eighth-place position in the MVC standings. They are 7-12 overall and 4-7 in conference play.

But the Salukis are 1-5 at home and have yet to win a conference game at home.

Bardley said the home record is not really a concern because the Salukis need to keep winning to keep their spot in the MVC tournament March 5-7 in Springfield, Mo.

We are basically looking at every game the same, Bardley said. We must win games no matter if we are away or at home. We struggled at both home and away, and now we are just trying to get back on track and stay there.

The Salukis play the University of Evansville tonight at 7:05 at the SIU Arena.