SIU women’s basketball has reached the halfway mark of the season and already has four more wins than last season’s total.

Through 16 games, the team is 9-7, 2-3 in conference. Last season the Salukis finished 5-25 and 3-15.

Although the team started better than last year, junior forward Azia Washington said the team can still improve.

“It’s still early,” she said. “We need to get better and make better opportunities from the mistakes we have made before.”

Washington is third in points and second in rebounds on the team, averaging 10.3 and 7.1 respectively. Last season, she averaged 9.6 points and 6.8 rebounds.

Junior center Dyana Pierre leads the team in rebounds this season, averaging 10.3 a game. She is also second with 13.5 points and 1 block per game. Last season, she led the team in points, rebounds and steals with 14, 9.6 and 1.46 respectively. She earned a spot on the All-Missouri Valley Conference team.

Coach Cindy Stein said she’s happy with Pierre’s play, apart from the 63-58 loss to Evansville on Sunday.

“It’s tough. We have to grow and get better,” Stein said. “I’ll take responsibility because I haven’t given her enough repetitions to know what to do and how to do it in every situation.”

The team also has two players back that missed most of last season.

Sophomore point guard Rishonda Napier only played in five games last season after suffering from gastritis, which WebMD describes as an inflammation, irritation or erosion of the lining of the stomach. In those games, Napier averaged 7.2 points and 3.6 rebounds before being redshirted.

Napier played in the first 15 games this season before suffering a separated shoulder in a 65-53 win against Indiana State on Friday. Despite the injury, Napier still leads the team in points and assists per game with 17.3 and 2.67 respectively.

Stein said Napier will be re-evaluated by the team doctor Wednesday before returning to practice.

Junior guard Cartaesha Macklin is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 9.7 points per game. She is also averaging 4.5 rebounds and 1.25 steals per game. Last season, Macklin was named to the Preseason All-MVC team but only played in seven games before redshirting. In those games, Macklin averaged 10.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1 steal per game.

SIU added freshman guard Kylie Giebelhausen to the roster this season. She currently leads the team in blocks, and averages 4.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-1 guard has also made 19 three-pointers, the second-most on the team.

The Salukis begin the second half of their season against the Missouri State Bears at 7:05 p.m. Friday in Springfield, Mo.

Brent Meske can be reached at [email protected] or at 536-3311 ext. 269