DE Assistant Sports Editor

The SIUC women’s basketball team will be looking to avenge an early season loss against Bradley University tonight at SIU Arena.

In its last meeting Jan. 22, the Salukis (12-8, 10-2) suffered a shocking 66-58 loss against the Lady Braves in Peoria, ending a 27-0 domination held by SIUC since 1983.

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SIUC women’s basketball coach Cindy Scott said the Salukis are well aware of what needs to be done in order to walk away with a win this time around.

There are a lot of keys to stopping Bradley because I think they’re a very well balanced team, Scott said. They have quickness at the point guard spot, and their post players are very potent and do a great job of stepping up and scoring.

In its early season win, Bradley’s Tammy Van Oppen, who ranks among the Valley’s top-eight scorers, led the Lady Brave’s attack against the Salukis with 19 points and 10 boards.

Scott said the Salukis must be very aggressive tonight, not only against Van Oppen, but Bradley’s zone in general.

We’ve got to play good defense and we’ve got to rebound with them, she said. Most importantly we have to be able to attack their zone. We were very passive against their zone in Peoria.

Senior forward Heather Slater said the Salukis were a much better team than the one that stepped onto the court Jan. 22.

They beat us bad, but we didn’t shoot the ball well and we are a better team than that, Slater said. Tonight we’re going to have to come out with the same defensive intensity that we played with during the last seven minutes of that game. If we play hard and keep our intensity up, we’ll win.

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With only six regular-season games remaining, Scott said it is essential for the Salukis to play well in all of them.

We have six tough ball games left, she said. We feel like we need to get all of them to be in the position to make a strong showing in the conference tournament.

Slater said the team knows how important it is to win from here on out.

In the back of our minds we know we can’t lose anymore games, Slater said. We have to take each game one at a time.

Scott said her team is giving an all out effort this year and a 10-2 record says a lot about the players.

We really feel like we are playing well right now, Scott said. Our kids are playing with tremendous heart and giving us a tremendous effort.

For us to be 10-2 in the conference is a great credit to these young ladies.

Despite a loss on Sunday against Illinois State, Southwest Missouri State remains on top of the Valley standings at 12-1. Both ISU and SIUC are tied for second at 10-2 apiece, while Creighton, 6-6, is in the No. 3 spot. Rounding off fourth and fifth place are Drake at 6-6, and Bradley, 6-7.

Scott said there are several teams who can make a run at the conference title.

I think there are probably five or six ball clubs who are contenders, Scott said. SMSU, ISU, SIUC, Creighton, Drake and Bradley are capable of beating each other on any particular night.

Tonight’s tip-off is at 7:05 at SIU Arena.