CARBONDALE (SIU ATHLETICS) -- The Southern Illinois Salukis open their 62nd season of competition on Wednesday, Nov. 25聽 at 1 p.m. when they host the Eastern Michigan Eagles inside Banterra Center. Eighth-year head coach Cindy Stein聽returns nine letterwinners from last year's squad that defeated the Eagles, 85-54, in Ypsilanti, Mich. a year ago.
Wednesday's Game
鈥⒙燚ue to a recent uptick in Covid-19 cases in the region, fans will not be allowed to attend Wednesday's game against Eastern Michigan.聽
鈥⒙燜ans are encouraged to watch the game from home on ESPN3 or to listen to the contest locally on Magic 95.1 FM.
All-Time vs. Eastern Michigan
鈥⒙燭his marks just the third time that the Eagles and the Salukis have met and the first time that the Salukis have hosted the Eagles.聽
鈥� Southern leads the all-time series, 2-0.
鈥� The Salukis used a 28-9 second quarter surge to defeat the Eagles, 85-54 in Ypsilanti, Mich. on Nov. 23, 2019. SIU's 28 second quarter points were the most scored in a second quarter by the Salukis since the NCAA switched to quarters prior to the 2015-16 season.
鈥� Eastern Michigan was picked to finish fifth out of 12 teams in the MAC Preseason Poll. EMU's Areanna Combs was one of five selected to the Preseason All-MAC team.
Last time they met
鈥� The Salukis defeated the Eagles, 85-54 in Ypsilanti, Mich. on Nov. 23, 2019.
鈥� Southern outscored Eastern, 28-9 in the second quarter to build an insurmountable lead.聽Makenzie Silvey scored 16 of SIU's 28 points in the frame and finished with 22 points on an efficient 10-of-14 shooting.
鈥� 11 of the 12 Salukis that played scored at least one basket.
鈥� Southern shot 55% from the field, including 53.8% from behind the arc and made 80% of its free throw attempts.聽
鈥� SIU held Eastern Michigan to 30.4% (21-of-69) shooting from the floor, including just 25.0% (5-of-20) from three-point range.聽
鈥� Southern also had five players record at least one steal and forced 13 turnovers.
鈥� The win was SIU's first in Michigan since 1978 in what was their first game in the Great Lake State since 2010.聽
鈥� It also marked the first time since Dec. 18, 2018 that two SIU players (Nicole Martin, Makenzie Silvey) went for 20-plus points in the same game.
All-time vs. the MAC
鈥� Southern's record is 19-15 all-time when facing MAC programs. NIU left the MAC from 1986-97 and the two programs faced nine times during that period (3-6).
鈥� SIU's last win over a MAC school came last season, when SIU defeated Northern Illinois to win their second-straight Compass Challenge title.
鈥� Southern's two wins over MAC opponents last season marked the fifth time in school history, and first time since 1982, that the Salukis have posted multiple wins in the same season over Mid-American Conference foes. SIU also did so in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1982.
鈥� The Salukis three-straight wins over MAC Opponents is its longest win streak over the MAC since SIU rattled off eight-straight wins over MAC schools from 1978-88.
Stein's record all-time vs. the MAC
鈥� Stein is 11-2 in her career against MAC opponents and 1-1 against EMU.
Winning their home openers
鈥� Southern has won six-straight home openers under head coach Cindy Stein聽and are now 23-22 in home openers dating back to the 1975-76 season.聽
鈥� The Salukis are 6-1 under Stein in home openers, which includes last season's 76-65 win over Tennessee Tech.
SIU in Season Openers
鈥� The Salukis own a 24-35 all-time record in season openers dating back to the 1961-62 season, having won their opener over SIUE last season, 103-67.聽
鈥� Last season's season opening win over SIUE was SIU's vs. win to open a season since 2017-18, when the Salukis opened with an 84-72 win over UT Martin behind 25 points from Kylie Giebelhausen.
鈥� Southern is 3-4 in season openers under Cindy Stein
Freshmen with 10-plus points
鈥� 13 Salukis since 1983 have scored in double figures in their collegiate debuts.聽
鈥� Two of the 13 players in school history to accomplish the feat -聽Makenzie Silvey and Payton McCallister聽- are playing in Wednesday's game.
Saluki freshmen to score 10-plus in a season opener:
Tanaeya Worden聽聽 聽17聽聽 聽vs. DePaul聽聽 聽2007-08
Makenzie Silvey 聽15聽聽 聽vs. UT Martin聽聽 聽2017-18
Olivia Lett聽聽 聽14聽聽 聽vs. SLU聽聽 聽2008-09
Mary Berghuis聽聽 聽12聽聽 聽vs. Tennessee聽聽 聽1984-85
Cari Hassell聽聽 聽12聽聽 聽at Vanderbilt聽聽 聽1994-95
Molly McDowell聽聽 聽12聽聽 聽vs. Wisconsin聽聽 聽1999-00
Payton McCallister 12聽聽 聽vs. UT Martin聽聽 聽2018-19
Meredith Jackson聽聽 聽11聽聽 聽vs. Murray St.聽聽 聽1996-97
Dana Olsen聽聽 聽11聽聽 聽vs. Missouri聽聽 聽2006-07
Racquel Ransom聽聽 聽10聽聽 聽vs. Illinois聽聽 聽1991-92
Maria Neibrugge聽聽 聽10聽聽 聽at Northwestern聽聽 聽1997-98
Teri Oliver聽聽 聽10聽聽 聽vs. SLU聽聽 聽2009-10
Ariel Haynes聽聽 聽10聽聽 聽at Austin Peay聽聽 聽2011-12
It's the Climb
鈥⒙燤akenzie Silvey ranks 18th in school history with 1,185 career points. She is 15 points shy of moving up to 16th all-time and 114 points shy of cracking the top-10.
鈥� Last season,聽Nicole Martin became the fifth Saluki during the Stein era to crack the Top-10 in scoring in program history. Martin joined Cartaesha Macklin (1st; 1,779),聽Rishonda Napier 聽(2nd; 1,728), Dyana Pierre (7th; 1,425) and聽Kylie Giebelhausen (10th; 1,298) in that club.
SIU's All-Time Scoring List
15. Mary Berghuis - 1,218
16. Teri Oliver - 1,199
17. Jayme Sweere - 1,192
18.聽Makenzie Silvey - 1,185
Joining the Club
鈥� Abby Brockmeyer聽ranks 30th in school history with 915 career points. She is 85 points shy of becoming the 28th member of SIU's 1,000 point club.
鈥� Brockmeyer is on the verge of several career milestones. She is 24 rebounds shy of becoming the 11th player in program history with 700-plus career rebounds.聽
鈥� The Raymond, Ill. native is just four blocks shy of 100 for her career. When she reaches all three milestones (1000 points/700 rebounds/100 blocks) she will join Dyana Pierre as the only Salukis to accomplish that feat.
Sustained success
鈥� The Salukis posted a winning record last season for the sixth-straight season under head coach Cindy Stein.聽
鈥� It's the longest streak of winning seasons for the program since 1997, when Southern capped off an impressive run of 14-straight winning seasons under then head coach Cindy Scott.聽
Body of Work
鈥� Southern was one of six Missouri Valley Conference teams last season with a top-110 RPI.
鈥� SIU's strength of schedule rank of 93 was its highest since at least 2002 and its RPI of 110 was the highest it has been since 2007, when the Salukis went to the WNIT.聽
鈥� SIU's four top-100 wins in 2019-20 were its most since at least 2002.聽
Turning over opponents聽
鈥� SIU forced 17.6 turnovers per game - which were the most for the program per game since 2003.聽
鈥� The Salukis held opponents to 63.3 points per game- the fewest points per game for the program since 2007.
鈥� Southern also led the league in fewest turnovers per game (14.3), which was the program's third-lowest single-season average in the NCAA-era (since 1982).聽
Defending Banterra Center
鈥� Southern went 9-5 at home in 2019-20 and are 59-40 (.596) at home under eighth-year head coach Cindy Stein.聽
鈥� The Salukis have won at least eight home games in six-straight seasons, including 10 during the 2015-16 season. Southern hasn't had that type of consistent success on its home floor in over 20 years (1992-97).
