SIUC sophomore center Melaniece Bardley can hardly believe the Salukis are still in contention for a spot in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

The Salukis are holding onto the eighth and final MVC Tournament spot, and Bardley knows what the Salukis need to do this week as the two toughest teams in the conference are on their way to Carbondale.

We must win games, that’s all I can say, Bardley said. We have put ourselves in a bad position with our record and how well we are playing. We put ourselves in a little hole. These next two games are must-win. That’s all I can say about it.

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But it will be difficult to turn things around against Creighton University tonight and Drake University Saturday.

Drake is undefeated and in first place in the conference. Creighton comes to SIUC second in the conference with a record of 5-2 and 9-6 overall. The Lady Jays also have a three-game winning streak.

Beating the Lady Jays at home is particularly important because so far this season the Salukis are winless in conference contests at home.

Coach Cindy Scott said there is some comfort in the fact that the Lady Jays and the Bulldogs will be coming to the SIU Arena, but admits both teams will be hard to beat.

We have two tough opponents, but at least we are at home, Scott said. We need to come ready to play because this is a real turning point for us. I think we all feel a great amount of pressure to start playing better and to get a win.

I think we are all very frustrated. The kids are trying hard and we just to hang tough and try to get through this.

The Salukis will face one of the better forwards in the MVC, senior Carrie Welle. Welle leads the Lady Jays with 18.4 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game. She also leads the Jays in shooting percentage by shooting 49 percent from the field. Welle is the only Lady Jay with a double-figure scoring average.

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The Salukis are led by senior center Theia Hudson, who averages 14.3 points per game. As a team, however, the Salukis are struggling offensively. They shoot just 40 percent from the field in conference games. Shooting has been a major factor in the Salukis’ 2-5 conference record.

I think there are two things we are not doing very well, Scott said. We don’t shoot the ball very well, and we don’t rebound very well. I think those things translate into difficult situations.

It is a combination of a lot of things, Bardley said. I think the most important things we need to figure out are our effort and our execution, which we haven’t done this year in the 15 games we have played. We have so much talent, but we just haven’t put it together.

SIUC battles Creighton University tonight at 7:05 at SIU Arena.