The SIU women’s basketball team found out Friday night junior center Dyana Pierre would be suspended for Saturday’s Senior Day game because of an altercation in the Feb. 27 game at Bradley.

Illinois State took the news well and dominated the Salukis to pick up its second win of the season, 69-54.

The Redbirds (2-27, 2-16) took a commanding 43-30 halftime lead with hot shooting. Illinois State outrebounded SIU (17-12 10-8), 19-8 and made 18-of-29 field goals in its highest-scoring first half of the year.

Junior forward Octavia Crump led the Redbirds with 12 points in the first half. Senior guard Katy Winge added 11.

Freshman guard Kylie Giebelhausen and junior guard Cartaesha Macklin paced SIU with 8 points each.

Freshman Celina Van Hyfte scored 6 straight points to open the second half, but that was as close as SIU would come. 

Illinois State finished with a 41-26 advantage on the boards. The Redbirds hauled in 29 offensive rebounds to 16 for SIU.

Winge led all scorers with 19. Crump added 18 for ISU.

Junior forward Azia Washington led SIU with 13 points.

Coach Cindy Stein said the loss had nothing to do with who was or was not on the floor.

“This game was not lost because we didn’t have Pierre,” Stein said. “This was lost because we didn’t do the things we needed to do to beat Illinois State.”

The Salukis open the postseason on Friday at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in St. Charles, Mo.  

Thomas Donley can be reached at [email protected] or at 536-3311 ext. 269.