The Southern Illinois women's basketball team cruised to an 89-41 exhibition victory over Kentucky Wesleyan Saturday afternoon in their first of two tuneups before it hosts UT Martin for its season opener on Nov. 10.
Nine of the 10 Salukis that played scored, including a game-high 22 points on eight-of-ten shooting from senior guard Kylie Giebelhausen. Giebelhausen started slow but caught fire in the second half, as she scored 13 points on a perfect five-of-five shooting. She also added nine rebounds and six assists.
"It started off slow for me," Giebelhausen said. "I was initially looking to control the court and make sure everyone was in the swing of things. I didn't want to take quick shots and throw off the offense. We needed (our newcomers) to get use to the flow and get them moving more. Once we got the swing of things down, I got more aggressive in the second half."
SIU never trailed in the contest, scoring the game's first points on a three-ball by Giebelhausen and opened up an 18-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Salukis shot 55.6 percent (35-of-63) from the field and held the Panthers to 28.8 percent shooting (17-of-59) including just 2-of-13 from beyond the arc. Southern was hampered, however, by turnovers, as the Salukis were whistled for seven offensive fouls and turned the ball over 25 times.
"The only disappointment I came away with was that we shared the ball really well, but we shared it a lot with (Kentucky Wesleyan) as well," fifth-year head coach Cindy Stein said. "25 turnovers are way too much. That is something we are going to have to continually work at, especially with young kids, but I think we can get there."
The Saluki freshmen got to play early and often in the exhibition, as all three played at least 19 minutes. Makenzie Silvey and Abby Brockmeyer each reached double figures, as Silvey finished with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Brockmeyer tallied 10 points, seven boards and three blocks. Rachel Pudlowski added four rebounds and two assists in 19 minutes.
"(Our freshmen) all have different personalities, but I think they all expect to play," Stein said. "They are just really competitive, gritty kids."
SIU returns to action Friday, Nov. 3 when it hosts Lindenwood-Belleville for its second, and final, exhibition of the 2017-18 season. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
