Saluki women’s losing streak ends with win over Wichita State
Saluki senior forward Kim Nebo and Shocker senior guard TaQuandra Mike reach for the ball during SIU’s 77-54 win against Wichita State on Friday, Jan. 13, 2017, at SIU Arena. Nebo scored 16 points in the game and had 10 rebounds. (Jacob Wiegand | @jawiegandphoto)
January 13, 2017
SIU junior guard Kylie Giebelhausen didn’t hit a single shot from inside the 3-point line Friday against Wichita State.
That wasn’t an issue though, as she made up for it by hitting a school record-tying seven 3-pointers from beyond the line to lead the Salukis to a 77-54 win against the Shockers.
The win ended a three-game losing streak for SIU (8-8, 2-3 Missouri Valley Conference) as the Salukis won their first game since opening the conference season against Loyola.
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The two teams were in tight competition in the first quarter, each making eight shots.
SIU went into the second quarter with a slight lead of 19-18 because of its ability to get to the free-throw line. Four out of Wichita’s five fouls in the quarter sent a Saluki to the line, where the Dawgs made six of their eight attempts.
Southern separated itself from the Shockers in the second thanks to a big quarter from Giebelhausen and senior guard Rishonda Napier.
Napier broke out from a scoreless first period to score six points, while Giebelhausen matched her with two of her seven 3-pointers.
Giebelhausen was on fire all game, finishing with a game-high 22 points.
Napier joined her in filling up the 3-pointer column, hitting five of her eight long-range attempts. She wound up getting a double-double with 16 points and 11 assists.
Meanwhile, Wichita State only scored nine points throughout the second quarter, sending the Salukis into halftime with a 35-27 lead.
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The Shockers actually shot better (46.2 percent to 39.3) than SIU in the first half, but were repeatedly their own worst enemy with 10 turnovers.
Junior forward Rangie Bessard was WSU’s best player in the first half with six points and seven rebounds, but was also the biggest turnover offender with three. She would eventually finish with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The Salukis’ hot shooting continued into the third, as they extended their lead to as much as 15.
Senior forward Kim Nebo had a strong second half with Napier and Giebelhausen, scoring 12 of her 16 points after halftime to go with 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season.
SIU will try to turn this win into a winning streak at 2 p.m. Sunday when Missouri State comes travels to SIU Arena.
Staff writer Sean Carley can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @SeanMCarley.
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