Just when SIUC freshman center Kristine Abramowski is healthy enough to return to the lineup, another starter gets injured.

Abramowski missed two games after she hit her head in the Feb. 10 contest with Vanderbilt University. But this time junior forward O’Desha Proctor has hit her head. Proctor sustained a head injury while diving for the ball during the 67-47 loss to the University of Northern Iowa Thursday

I am still trying to convince myself that I can still play on Thursday, Proctor said. But I know that I am not going to be.

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Having another key player go down with an injury is nothing new for the Salukis.

Once again we get somebody and lose somebody, women’s head coach Cindy Scott said. We haven’t had everyone healthy in two months.

Proctor is the team’s second-leading scorer with an average of 9.2 points per game. She will miss at least the next two games, and the news is especially bad for the Salukis, who will be playing the top two teams in the Missouri Valley Conference.

SIUC will play No. 2 Creighton tonight in Omaha, Neb., before facing No. 1 Drake University Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Salukis, 6-8 in conference play and 9-14 overall, have a guaranteed spot in the MVC tournament March 5-7, but are looking to pass up UNI to avoid having to play Drake in the first round.

I was very happy with the progress we have made, Scott said. And I am still happy. The key thing is that we have made the tournament. Now we can play to get the highest seed we possibly can and go from there.

Scott said the most notable factor so far this season has been the Salukis’ unpredictable nature. Against UNI, the Salukis were tied at 44 but only scored three points in the last 9:13 of the game for a 20-point loss.

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I think the one thing we have been very consistent at this year is being inconsistent, Scott said. We can go from one type of team to a vastly different team in a matter of seconds. I think that’s the sign of a young team. We’ve been rattled with injuries and nothing has really gone our way.

But the Salukis do have the potential to play well if they put everything together. In the last outing against Creighton, the Salukis lost 64-61 but made a run in the last five minutes to almost beat the Lady Jays.

Proctor said if the Salukis play good defense, they can beat Creighton.

If we come and establish ourselves as a defensive presence at the beginning and play a whole 40-minute game, I don’t see why we shouldn’t win the game. But that is a great team, and we have to make a defensive stand.

The Salukis play Creighton University at 7:05 tonight in Omaha, Neb.

The game can be heard on WQRL 106.3 FM or on the World Wide Web at http://www.siu.edu/~athletic.