DE Assistant Sports Editor

Following a successful two game road trip, the SIUC women’s basketball team drove straight from Omaha and into the record books.

Beginning with a victory over Drake University on Thursday, the Salukis knocked off Missouri Valley Conference foe Creighton University with a 78-68 victory Sunday.

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With the win at Creighton, SIUC becomes only the 10th school in history to garner 500 wins in women’s basketball.

SIUC women’s basketball coach Cindy Scott said adding SIUC to the 500 win list is a great credit to the University and all coaches who have preceded her.

It’s a great credit to the program, Scott said. Certainly a great majority of those wins are not mine. There have been several people who have coached women’s basketball at SIUC long before I got there and its a tribute to the University and the commitment they’ve had to women’s sports.

Scott also said 500 wins simply shows how long the University has been committed to women’s basketball.

The Salukis’ 500th win proved to be a continuous uphill struggle marked by several lead changes throughout the game.

Paced by senior guard Nikki Gilmore’s 21 points, the Salukis shot 48 percent from the field, hitting 29 of 60, compared to Creighton’s 32 percent.

At the half, SIUC led by two 39-37 but, came out with a13-3 run at Creighton to start the second half. However, Creighton managed to chip away at SIUC’s lead with a 21-1 run to tie the game at 57 with just over 6:00 to go in the game.

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This was a really tough game, Scott said. We got a good lead early in the second half but Creighton is a good basketball team and they fought back.

Thanks in part to the play of senior forward LaQuanda Chavours, Creighton’s lead did not last long as they were outscored 21-9 the remainder of the game. Chavours hit a key bucket with under two minutes to play to secure SIUC’s victory.

Chavours ended the game with 15 points and 6 boards in 38 minutes of action.

I can’t say enough about the play of LaQuanda Chavours, Scott said. She went six-for-10 and hit a key bucket for us that really secured the victory for us.

The Salukis are now in the thick of the MVC tournament race and Scott said the team is excited about where they stand and looking forward to gaining a berth in the NCAA tournament.

It was an overall great effort for our kids, Scott said. They handled the victory well. I think this team is really focused on trying to get to the NCAA tournament. They have really come together, and they are becoming a pretty good basketball team.

Scott said the Saluki players are playing with great confidence, which means only good things can be expected in the future.

When players believe in themselves, and when players begin to believe in themselves as a team, good things happen, Scott said. Right now I can honestly say that our kids are beginning to think that they can do something this year, and they are proving it.

The Salukis have a much needed day off today, and an entire week to practice before another road match against Evansville on Saturday.