Nov. 16, 2005

By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com

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Date: Saturday, November 19, 2005
Tip Off: 7:05 p.m., CST
Site: SIU Arena (10,014), Carbondale, Ill.
The Series: First Meeting
Head Coaches: SIU: Dana Eikenberg (3-24/2nd Yr.)
Weber State: Carla Taylor (238-236/18th Yr.)
Rankings: Neither team is ranked
Audio Webcast: www.siusalukis.com
Livestats: www.siusalukis.com

Salukis in Season-Openers
Southern Illinois is 19-25 all-time in season-opening games. The Salukis have dropped their last four season-openers, three of which came on the road. SIU last tipped off a season with a win in 2000-01 when it defeated Illinois-Chicago, 57-40, in Chicago on Nov. 18.

Eikenberg in Season-Openers
Dana Eikenberg is 1-4 in season-openers as a head coach.
At UMKC, Eikenberg's Teams . . .
Lost at Kansas State, 49-62 (11/17/00)
Lost to Missouri, 48-67 (11/16/01)
Lost to Northern Iowa, 66-74 (11/22/02)
Defeated Kansas, 63-50 (11/21/03)
At SIU, Eikenberg's Teams . . .
Lost at Iowa, 50-66 (11/19/04)

Non-Conference Lineup
Home games and a balanced non-conference slate were two of Dana Eikenberg's biggest priorities when scheduling for the 2005-06 season. After going a combined 3-15 outside the Missouri Valley Conference and playing just five non-league games in Carbondale over the last two years, SIU enters this season with four non-conference home dates. Weber State (Nov. 19), along with South Alabama (Nov. 25), Indiana (Dec. 2) and South Dakota State (Dec. 10) visit SIU Arena this year. The Salukis also make trips to Murray State (Nov. 22), SE Missouri State (Nov. 29), Tennessee Tech (Dec. 5), Missouri (Dec. 18) and Saint Louis (Dec. 22) during non-conference play.

Eikenberg in Home Openers
Dana Eikenberg also holds a 1-4 record in home openers, with only one of those games decided by less than 10 points.
At UMKC, Eikenberg's Teams . . .
Lost to SE Missouri, 48-65 (11/21/00)
Lost to Missouri, 48-67 (11/16/01)
Lost to Northern Iowa, 66-74 (11/22/02)
Defeated Kansas, 63-50 (11/21/03)
At SIU, Eikenberg's Teams . . .
Lost to Tennessee Tech, 55-73 (11/28/04)

Previewing the Wildcats
Preseason Pick: Weber State was picked fourth in the Big Sky's 2005-06 Preseason Poll. Montana was picked to win the league, while Northern Arizona, Eastern Washington, WSU, Idaho State, Sacramento State, Montana State and Portland State rounded out the voting.2004-05 Finish: WSU wrapped up its Big Sky regular season in second-place with an 11-3 mark. The Wildcats later advanced to the Big Sky Championship game, where it fell to Montana, 67-44, to finish 21-8 on the year. Scouting Report: WSU returns two starters, including point guard Laura Porter and forward Sara Tuomi. Porter led the Big Sky in assist-turnover ratio with a 1.71 mark a year ago. Chelsey Warburton also returns to the Wildcat lineup as one of the top returning outside shooters in the league. Last season, Warburton hit 1.52 trey's in 18 minutes per game off the bench. The Wildcats will once again likely depend on its outside game in 2005-06. WSU ranked 13th in the country in three-point field goal percentage with a 37.5 efficiency rating a year ago. Key Losses: This year, the Wildcats will be without 2003 and 2005 Big Sky Co-MVP Julie Gjertsen who graduated in May. WSU also lost starting center Becky O'Neil who transferred following the 2005 season.

Previewing the Salukis
Preseason Pick: For the fifth year in a row, Southern Illinois was picked to finish last in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll, the league announced on Oct. 25. Indiana State was tabbed the preseason favorite for the first time in league history, while Missouri State, Creighton, Drake and Northern Iowa completed the top five. SIU hasn't been picked any higher than eighth in the league's preseason rankings over the last eight years. 2004-05 Finish: SIU played the entire year with only eight players, and as a result, finished at 3-24 overall and 1-17 in the Valley. The Salukis have finished last in the MVC for four-straight years. Scouting Report: Under the direction of second-year head coach Dana Eikenberg, SIU fields a young team flooded with 10 underclassmen in 2005-06. SIU will be led by University of Missouri-Kansas City transfers Carlai Moore, Erin Pauk, Jayme Sweere and Katy Freeman, who are anxious to play after sitting out the 2004-05 campaign due to NCAA regulations. The transfers, along with five talented freshmen and three returnees, including Amy Hayden, Elyse Morris and India Bruster should get the Dawgs headed in the right direction this season. Key Losses: SIU's leading scorer from a year ago, Danette Jones, graduated in May. Jones averaged 13.7 points a game and finished her Saluki career ranked third all-time in three-pointers made (153).

Versus the Big Sky
SIU, who meets Weber State for the first time, is 2-0 all-time against Big Sky opponents. The Salukis beat Northern Arizona, 77-58, at the Dial Classic in San Diego, Calif., on Dec. 5, 1986 and Idaho State, 70-55, at the Coors Classic in Boulder, Colo., on Dec. 4, 1992. SIU's win over Northern Arizona started an 18-game winning streak that year, the second-longest in school history.

Oh Canada
SIU got a jumpstart on its 2005-06 season when it played three games in Canada over Labor Day weekend (Sept. 2-5). NCAA regulations permitted the Salukis to practice 10 days leading up to the foreign trip. SIU beat Brock University (67-38), Wilfrid-Laurier (69-49) and the University of Guelph (74-67) before returning to the United States.

Perfect Exhibition
The Salukis defeated St. Louis Goldstar, 83-49, on Nov. 6 at SIU Arena to cap a perfect 4-0 record in exhibition play.

Should be a lot Moore Exciting This Year
Junior Carlai Moore, who was named first-team all-Mid Continent Conference and the MCC's Sixth Woman-of-the-Year in back-to-back seasons at UMKC, makes her Saluki debut against the Wildcats this weekend. Moore, who has the potential to be one of the best in the MVC by the time she completes her two years at Southern, led the Kangaroos in virtually every statistical category in 2003-04, including scoring (13.7 ppg) and rebounding (8.7 rpg).

Looking to Regroup
SIU has gone 3-24 overall in back-to-back seasons and has dropped 18 of its last 19 games. The Dawgs also enter the 2005-06 season mired in an eight-game losing streak which began on Feb. 5, 2005.

Pauk to Spearhead Saluki Backcourt
Sophomore Erin Pauk takes over as the Salukis' point guard this season. In her only season at UMKC, Pauk started 25 of 29 games, where she led the Kangaroos in assists (85) and ranked second in both three-point percentage (.394) and three-point field goals made (26). She is an experienced play caller and excellent ball-handler, who should be a catalyst in the Salukis' up-tempo transition game this year.

Perimeter Power
Senior Amy Hayden and sophomore Elyse Morris return to a perimeter that goes six deep. The only senior on this year's squad, Hayden made 19 starts and ranked fourth on the team in scoring (5.0 ppg), second in assists (59) and third in steals (25) for SIU last season. Meanwhile, Morris emerged as the Salukis' third-leading scorer (7.8 ppg) after she was granted a medical redshirt in 2003-04. She also ranked second on the team in both field goal percentage (.420) and steals (26), and third in assists (52). Sophomore Jayme Sweere is also among SIU's top perimeter threats. Sweere averaged 7.4 points and 3.2 rebounds in her only season at UMKC in 2003-04.

Frontcourt Flurry
Lack of depth hit the Salukis hard underneath the basket last season, but this year, Eikenberg has five post players to interchange between the four and five spots on the block. In addition to Moore, sophomore India Bruster and freshmen Jasmine Gibson and Gentry Dietz are expected to contribute immediately down low. Bruster returns as one of the Dawgs' most improved players from a year ago. As a freshman, she led the team with 28 blocks and ranked second with 125 rebounds. Dietz was her team's leading shot blocker at Millard North High School. As for Gibson, she scored over 1,000 career points at North Kansas City High School.

Up Next
SIU heads to Murray State on Tuesday, Nov. 22. Tip off is set for 5:15 p.m., at the Regional Special Events Center.