Battling through injuries, reorganizing seasons plans and a brand-new coaching staff, the Salukis have been through it all, and have closed out their season at 5-25 overall.

After losing key players to injuries and other medical issues, the Salukis only had nine eligible players for most of the season.

At the beginning of the season, the Salukis had a five-game losing streak before defeating the University of Central Arkansas Dec. 2.

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The women went an entire season without a back-to-back win.  The Salukis did not win a game in the month of February.

Last year, the Salukis won only four games in the regular season.  Those four wins were the only wins SIU would see before its 16-game losing streak to end the year.

The numerous losses caused the Salukis to lose confidence, but coach Cindy Stein kept searching for answers. Since the beginning of the season, Stein said her team never got down on themselves.

Stein joined the SIU women’s basketball team last April, making this her first season at the helm.  Stein has 16 years of coaching experience under her belt and has turned struggling teams into winners.

Stein said all season about her team’s intensity, lack of confidence and energy on the court.  Since the very beginning, Stein has stressed making the right decisions.

The Salukis will only lose two players to graduation, guards Jordyn Courier and Sydney Goins.  The two were leaders for SIU, but the team still consists of young players.

Sophomore forward Dyana Pierre has been the Salukis best player this season.  She was a leader on the court for SIU and has brought defensive intensity to the team.

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Not only has Pierre led her team and the MVC on the boards, she also is one of the Salukis top scorers.  The sophomore finished the season with 21 double-doubles, which is 13^th in MVC history.

She was named a First-Team All-MVC selection, making her the first Saluki since 2007 to achieve the honor.  Pierre is just the eighth player in school history to take First-Team All-Conference honors since 1992.

“That was really big for me,” Pierre said.  “To be noticed for your hard work and be able to walk across that stage to get that award was really big for me.”

Pierre said she believes the biggest issue of the team was consistency.  There were times where the Salukis would play with energy and intensity, but lose it later on, she said.

“Everybody just needs to know what their role is on the court and they need to want the ball,” Pierre said.  “Sometimes our defense would be good for 30 seconds, but then 30 seconds later it would go bad.”

Stein, along with Pierre, said they don’t know why it happens, but they wish they did.  Defense and energy has been the Achilles heel of the women’s team and after a few minutes of momentum, they just couldn’t keep it.

“I wish I knew the answer to it,” Pierre said.  “I certainly wish I knew the answer to it.”

Freshman guard Carlie Corrigan was a great addition to the Saluki team.   As a first year college athlete, she played in 30 games this season.

Scoring a career high of nine points against Indiana State University Feb. 14, Corrigan has stepped-up and made a difference.

“I don’t think our record really shows how much we improved,” she said.  “We eventually became a better team and started to play together towards the end, but that’s what the numbers don’t show.”

Corrigan said she knew the program she was getting into before she decided to join the Salukis.  She said it was a hard-adjustment out of high school, but her teammates made it easier for her to cope.

“I never looked at last years record negatively,” she said.  “You can have a good record one year and not the next so you can’t ever really look at it like that.”

Corrigan, along with her teammates, has shown they can fight through the struggles and obstacles they have had throughout the season.

With new recruited players, and a fairly different team than before, the Salukis will try and change the women’s basketball program around.

Symone Woolridge can be reached at [email protected] on twitter @swoolridge_DE or ext. 536-3311 ext. 269