By Travis Akin 17

SIUC women’s basketball coach Cindy Scott is a believer in the theory that exhibition games do not matter much once the regular season starts.

Even though the Northwestern University women’s basketball team lost its exhibition game, the Salukis will be facing one of the better teams in the nation when the two teams meet Friday night at the preseason NIT in Evanston.

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Scott said she does not concentrate too closely on or worry about exhibition games.

To be honest, I don’t put too much stock in people’s scores in exhibition games, Scott said. It is very difficult to judge one exhibition team to another. If we beat one team by 28 and they lose to another team, to me that doesn’t tell me anything.

The Wildcats lost an exhibition game to the Kosarlabda Sport Club of Skekszard, Hungary, 65-61, whereas the Salukis won their exhibition 79-53 against the Australian National Team Sunday.

But a preseason loss does not give the Salukis the upper hand in Friday’s matchup. Last year, the Wildcats were No. 1 in the nation in three-point baskets made per game with an average of 7.2. They were second in three-point percentage with a mark of 40.9 percent.

Northwestern also is returning all-Big 10 forward Kristina Divjak, who was fifth in the country in three-point percentage.

The Wildcats have seven players who stand 6 feet tall and above, but Scott said the Salukis might actually have the height advantage in the starting lineup.

Our front line will go 6-2, 6-3, 6-3, Scott said. Now our one and two guards are going to be shorter than their two guards, but I think size-wise we are bigger than they are.

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One of Scott’s concerns is to reduce some of the errors the Salukis made in their exhibition win against the Australian National Team Sunday. She said the team needs to be relaxed to avoid making mistakes against the Wildcats.

I think it is very important that we play with confidence, Scott said. It is tough to go on the road. Our kids feel good about themselves, but it is particularly tough when you go to a Big 10 opponent’s floor. We have to maintain our composure and maintain our confidence.

The team, which had a total of 28 turnovers in Sunday’s game, has been working all week on reducing turnovers and improving passing.

Freshman guard Courtney Smith is concerned with the eight turnovers she had in Sunday’s game.

My top goal is to cut down on the number of turnovers I had, Smith said. We really stressed turnovers in practice. To beat any team, we need to cut down on the number of turnovers we had.

Sophomore center Ann Morgan said part of the problem with the turnovers was the team was forcing the ball and making passing errors. She said Friday’s game will be a good opportunity to see how the team has resolved those mistakes.

It will be a real test of how far we are coming and how we can play as a team, Morgan said. We have to rely a lot more on different combinations. We have been working on our passing, not forcing it so much in the post.

Morgan said that even though the Wildcats are a solid three-point shooting club, she is confident the Salukis can match them.

We have really good three-point shooters in Meredith (Jackson) and Jessie (Phillips) , Morgan said. Defense will be a big factor, but I think we can match up really well.

The Salukis play in the first round of the preseason NIT at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Northwestern University in Evanston.