Berry Sets Record as SIUE Wins

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Published on January 29 2013 9:58 am
Last Updated on January 29 2013 2:46 pm
Written by Millie Lange

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Call it a banner night for Raven Berry.
 
On the night she would become SIUE's all-time leader in rebounds, the senior from Collinsville scored a career-high 28 points and set career highs for free throws made (14) and free throws attempted (17).
 
"It's a tremendous honor for Raven to be the all-time rebounds leader.  She's going to keep tacking those rebounds on to make that a very tough record for anyone to break in years to come," said SIUE Head Coach Paula Buscher.
 
SIUE improved to 11-10 overall and 5-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 78-65 triumph over Southeast Missouri at the Vadalabene Center. The loss sent SEMO to 8-13 overall and 2-6 in the OVC.
 
"It feels really good to set the record, but I was more focused on this game," said Berry. "I knew we had to come out and play hard because SEMO was going to play hard as well."
 
The night started slow for Berry. She didn't grab her first of a game-high 13 rebounds until the 9:56 mark of the first half.
 
She would go on to break the record previously held by former All-American Kim (Lowe) Thompson who played for the Cougars from 1995 to 1998. Her record-breaking rebound came at the 2:11 mark of the first half. She missed a shot, grabbed the offensive rebound, and put the ball back into the basket to tie the score 20-20.
 
Berry, who notched her seventh double-double of the season and the 31st of her career, began to set herself apart from the previous rebound record holder in the second half with 11 more rebounds. She now has 928 rebounds.

Teutopolis graduate Jessie Wendt hit one of four from the field, one of three from three-point range and one of two at the line for four points for SIUE. She had two rebounds and an assist.

EIU Women Remain In First Place

CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Panther women’s basketball team remained in first place of the Ohio Valley Conference’s West Division on Monday night, defeating UT Martin, 84-79, at Lantz Arena. EIU improves to 13-8 overall and 7-2 in OVC play.

The Skyhawks (10-13, 5-4 OVC) opened the game with a 15-5 run to take their largest lead of the contest before the Panthers responded with a 15-4 run, taking a one-point advantage (20-19) with 7:46 left in the first half. EIU never trailed for the duration of the game and had a 39-31 halftime lead.

UT Martin got within two points (75-73) with 4:17 left in the contest, but the Panthers would go 9-for-12 from the foul line down the stretch to seal the victory. Defensively, EIU held the OVC’s top scoring team to only six points in the final three minutes of action on 1-for-7 shooting.

Senior Mariah King led the Panther offense with 23 points on 7-for-9 shooting. The senior forward scored 19 of her 23 points in the second stanza while also going 9-for-11 from the foul line. King also had 10 rebounds for her eighth career double-double.

Senior Sydney Mitchell also scored 17 points for EIU while classmate Kelsey Wyss rounded out the double-figure scoring with 14 points. Wyss is nine three pointers away from becoming the school’s all-time leader in made three pointers. Senior Ta’Kenya Nixon posted a double-double with a game-high 11 assists to go along with 10 rebounds. Nixon also added eight points and a game-high three blocks.

The Panthers grabbed three more rebound than the Skyhawks (41-38) on the night and recorded three more steals (8-5). EIU also dished out a season-high 24 assists.

The Panthers hit 46.7 percent of their shot attempts, going 28-for-60 from the floor. EIU also went 10-for-26 from behind the arc and 18-for-27 from the foul line. UT Martin finished the day connecting on 41.4 percent of its field-goal attempts (29-for-70).

Jasmine Newsome led the Skyhawks with 28 points, seven assists and three steals. Heather Butler added 25 points and a team-high eight assists while Rickiesha Bryant chipped in a double-double with a game-high 15 rebounds and 10 points.