INA, Ill. – It is not all that complicated to figure out how Tracy Hyatt could lead teams in scoring for six consecutive seasons, covering four varsity high school squads and the first two years of her college basketball career.

What she did was depart with an all-time record of 1,289 points from Gibson Southern High School in Southern Indiana, before netting 1,026 more for the winningest teams back-to-back in Rend Lake College Lady Warrior annals – 26-5 in ’86-87 and 25-8 in ’87-88.

Tracy Hyatt

The feat was rare indeed. The answer to how she could have done it is much simpler.

“She was a shooter,” RLC Coach Jim Waugh recalled recently. “She came off screens about as good as anybody I ever coached.

“I can still picture her game-winning shot against Wabash Valley. There were just a few seconds to play when we called a timeout to set up a double-screen – two separate screens – to get her open, and they made it work. She nailed it.”

Added Waugh, “Tracy was very quiet, unassuming. But on the court, she knew when she had an open shot and when to take it. That’s why she always made such a great percentage of her shots.

“She was so valuable to us. You could always count on her for double-figures (scoring).”

That is true. Something else you can count on to happen . . .

On Saturday, April 21, Tracy (Hyatt) Steed will share the spotlight (once again) with Warrior Basketball “Enforcer” Ronnie Henderson (Class of ’73) and multi-talented Baseball Catcher Scott Wagner (Class of ’80) as inductees into the Rend Lake College Sports Hall of Fame. Ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Student Center on the Ina campus.

The threesome, all of whom led one of their Juco teams to the most wins in its history at that point in time, will bring the total number of individuals to be so honored to 50 since the Hall’s inception in 2000. Membership also includes 11 teams and four Track relay quartets.

Post-career recognition is nothing new for Hyatt-Steed, who recently submitted her resignation as Girls Basketball Coach at Carmi-White County High School. She is a teacher in the Carmi-White County system and is married to former Bulldog Tim Steed.

In 2011, she was named to the Indiana High School Basketball Silver Anniversary Team, one of 18 women to be so honored. Five years later, the Owensville native was named a Charter Member in The Greater Evansville Basketball Hall of Fame, which “honors the Tri-State’s current and former high school, college and professional basketball standouts as well as coaches, administrators, officials and fans.”  Fellow inductees in April 2016 included such Illinois notables as Coach Ron Felling, Jay Shidler and Marty Simmons of Lawrenceville and the McLeansboro Father-Son duo of Jerry and Brian Sloan.

She left RLC as the No. 2 scorer all-time for a program in its 11th year of existence. Today, her inclusion in the Lady Warrior 1,000-Point Club puts the 5-10 forward in select company along with new HOF “teammates” Susie Woodward, Rebecca Harris, Cheryl Weis and Amanda Willoughby. The long-range shooter benefited when the 3-point arc was introduced to the college game prior to her second Juco season.

Hyatt was a two-time All-Great Rivers Athletic Conference pick and All-Region XXIV as a sophomore, when she led the Lady Warriors in scoring 19 outings, 13 of those with 20-plus, with highs of 31 at Kaskaskia and 32 in a Danville Area Tournament championship win over the hosts. She averaged 17.8 ppg and 2.3 assists, but her rebound tally slipped to 3.4 with additional help from the 6-2 Weis. She hit .546 from the field, including 19 of her team’s total of 23 treys in Year One, and .838 from the charity stripe (67-80), No. 5 nationally.

As a newcomer sharing the spotlight with Soph Cynthia Wessel, she posted 15.7 ppg, 8.4 rpg and 3.2 steals/recoveries. She led the team in scoring nine times and rebounding 10, with 20-plus points in five games, including 30 at Shawnee and 32 (record 16 field goals) and 12 boards in a 70-69 regular-season finale verdict over Wabash Valley. She also had 17 rebounds in a rout at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods (IN), located in Terre Haute not too far from her hometown, and boasted 10 or more in six other games.

Career stats for the 2018 RLC Sports HOF honoree – 16.8 ppg (51% FG, 70% FT) and 5.8 rpg.

It was not as if the two-time leading scorer did not have plenty of competition for that distinction both seasons. Four others averaged at least eight points Hyatt’s freshman campaign, with classmates Karen Poninski and Becky Orrick contributing 15.5 and 8.2 points and sophomores Wessel scoring at 14.7-point clip and Susan Gardner at 8.1. In Year Two, Freshman Weis averaged 13.9, Poninski 13.1 and Becky Orrick, née Artis, 9.1.

Hyatt was recommended to Waugh by a young Division I Assistant Coach, who was impressed with what he saw but unable to offer her an athletic grant-in-aid. According to a story in the Carmi Times in 2011, when she was named to the Silver Anniversary Team . . . “After personally meeting legendary Coach Jim ‘Hummer’ Waugh (the man for whom the school’s gymnasium is named), Steed decided on Rend Lake Junior College for the first two years of her collegiate career.”

The three-time All-Big Eight Conference pick was named Gibson County Athlete of the Year in 1986.

The Hoosier native returned to complete her playing career with the University of Evansville Purple Aces, where she was the Midwestern Collegiate College “Newcomer of the Year” in 1988-89 and set a record with 65 3-pointers in 1990-91, a year after giving birth to her first child.

Those 65 treys topped the previous best by 10 and still ranks No. 6 all-time 27 years later. She also set a record with at least one 3-pointer in 15 consecutive games and finished her two-year U. of E. career with 97 treys and 632 total points. The Purple Aces set a Team Record for Free Throws Made her senior season with 543.

Other two-year contributors to the 51 Lady Warrior victories were frontliners Poninski, a standout in her own right, and Orrick-Artis and the backcourt duo of Carol Ray and Stephanie Sides.

Weis would go on to shine at NCAA D-I Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. Artis and Sides would continue their teammate status at Blackburn College, while Ray ran cross-country for SIU-Edwardsville.

Trish Reed, a sophomore member of the 26-5 Lady Warriors, was named 2013 Rend Lake College “Alumna of the Year” by the RLC Foundation. She is President / General Manager of UpTime Parts LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Navistar, Inc. Her company, with headquarters in West Chicago and Las Vegas, provides aftermarket parts and more for light-duty trucks.

·         Wagner earned First-Team All-State recognition as a college freshman after hitting .373 (28-75) in Spring ’79. For an encore, he upped that average to a best-ever .450 (27-60) the following Fall and helped McClure’s ninth squad post his 250th win and gain a share of its third SICC championship. He was named All-SICC.

The 6-2, 195-pounder produced a team-record 60 RBIs in as many games (41-19) and a record five home runs in the combined Fall/Spring ’79-80 campaign. Overall, the sophomore batted .369 (65-176) with a .551 slugging percentage. The athletic backstop also stole 21 bases and scored 51 runs as the ’79-80 Warriors set five new standards, including Wins. He added All-Great Lakes and South All-Stars to his credits.

Also worth noting: Wagner’s 69 bases-on-balls and six triples during a career in which he hit .371 after a slow start in Fall ’78; by comparison, he struck out just 34 times in approximately 400 total plate appearances.

Career totals for teams that were a composite 68-43 included a .335 batting average (109-325), 80 runs scored, 82 RBIs, a .492 slugging percentage thanks to 31 extra-base hits and a .452 on-base percentage.

·         Henderson, who would later become a Correctional Officer at Big Muddy River Correctional Center, was the quiet “Enforcer” for Coach Jim Waugh’s RLC Warriors. The 6-foot-4 Forward was a two-time All-Southern Illinois College Conference First-Team selection who averaged 14.4 points per game both seasons and 12.1 rebounds the first year, 9.1 the next.

Thanks to his record 367 rebounds as a freshman and career mark of 604 (206 offensive and 378 defensive), the Warriors went 38-17, with a best-to-date slate of 20-6 and SICC crown (7-1) in his final season.

ST. LOUIS – Southern Illinois pitcher Brad Harrison was named Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week, the league announced Monday. Harrison earned the award for the third time this season. He struck out 11 in seven shutout innings against Valparaiso on Sunday. 

In the first four innings on Sunday, Harrison struck out nine batters while Valpo was only able to put six balls in play. In the first inning, Valpo hit a leadoff triple, and Harrison proceeded to strike out the next three batters on 10 pitches to get out of the jam. He didn’t allow another Valpo player to reach third base for the remainder of his outing. He struck out 11 in seven shutout innings, limiting Valpo to four hits and a .167 average. 

Harrison earned the honor for the third time this season. Harrison and now-pitching coach P.J. Finigan are the only players in school history to earn three MVC Pitcher of the Week awards. Finigan earned the award three times in 2005, when he was the MVC Player of the Year. 

Southern Illinois has pitched four shutouts this year, and Harrison has started three of them. He threw a complete-game shutout at Belmont. Against Southeast Missouri (March 6) he pitched eight shutout innings, and against Valparaiso (April 8) he pitched seven shutout innings; Trey McDaniel finished both of those shutouts.  

Missouri State’s Drew Millas earned the MVC Player of the Week honor.

SIU hosts Eastern Illinois on Tuesday at 5 p.m. before traveling to Dallas Baptist for a three-game series with the nationally ranked Patriots.

Tom Ricketts awaited an interview before Tuesday’s game at Wrigley Field when a local television producer approached the Cubs chairman.

Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.

For Cubs followers fretting over a .500 start after listening to the importance of starting the season fast, manager Joe Maddon provided some distance to allay concern after Tuesday’s 8-5 home opening loss to the Pirates.

Here’s a link to the story at the Chicago Tribune.

By Bob Kelley, retired RLC Sports Information Director and 2012 Hall of Fame inductee

INA, Ill. – So good things come to those who wait? Count Scott Wagner among the believers.

An outstanding athlete in his own right, the Mt. Vernon native played three sports in high school and then hit .335 with 80 runs scored, 82 runs batted in, seven home runs, a .492 slugging percentage and .452 on-base percentage during a two-year career catching for Rend Lake College. He was rewarded with All-Southern Illinois College Conference, All-State and All-Great Lakes recognition playing for a league champion from 1978-80.

Scott Wagner

It was longtime Ram and Warrior teammate Doug Creel, however, who attained Charter Member status when the RLC Sports Hall of Fame first opened its doors in 2000. Creel, also All-SICC as a shortstop, was inducted for his exploits as a record-setting point-producer for the Men’s Basketball team.

Safe to say, nobody was any happier to attend Hall of Fame ceremonies in 2016 than Wagner. That is when Lindsay Wagner and Katie Wagner claimed memberships in the Mt. Vernon Township High School Sports Hall of Fame. The proud father saw Lindsay, a 2003 MVTHS graduate, inducted as an individual distance runner and as a member of the 2001-02 Cross-Country Team along with her younger sister.

Scott Wagner, proud father, could ask for nothing more.

That is all very nice. But it would seem Wagner, whether he would admit it or not, is deserving of a little “me time.”

Consider it done.

On Saturday, April 21, along with two basketball standouts, fellow Mt. Vernonite Ronnie Henderson (1971-73) and Hoosier transplant Tracy Hyatt Steed (1986-88), Scott Wagner and friends will comprise the 19th Class inducted into the Rend Lake College Sports Hall of Fame. Ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Student Center (Pat Kern Private Dining Room) on the Ina campus.

The public is invited. Registration in advance for the banquet is required through the Athletic Department – (618) 437-5321, Ext. 1250, or by email to oxford@rlc.edu.

Depending on which one is considered last but certainly not least among this elite contingent, he or she will become the 50th individual to be so honored since the Hall’s inception in 2000. Membership also includes 11 teams and four Track relay quartets.

Wagner earned First-Team All-State recognition as a college freshman after hitting .373 (28-75) in Spring ’79.

All he did for an encore was up that average to a best-ever .450 (27-60) the following Fall and helped Coach Mike McClure’s ninth squad post his 250th win and gain a share of its third SICC championship. He was named All-SICC, along with infield teammates Creel and Gary Denbo.

The 6-2, 195-pounder produced a team-record 60 RBIs in as many games (41-19) and a record five home runs in the combined Fall/Spring ’79-80 campaign as a sophomore. The RBI total was 19 more than the previous high and 24 more than the team runner-up.

Overall, the sophomore batted .369 (65-176) with a .551 slugging percentage. The athletic, not-your-stereotypical backstop, also stole 21 bases and scored 51 runs as the ’79-80 Warriors set new standards for Wins, Batting Average (.295), Hits (490), Runs (407) and RBIs (336). Individually, he added All-Great Lakes and South All-Stars to his credits.

Wagner capped his freshman season in an All-Star appearance alongside two RLC sophomore teammates he highly respected, Pitcher Randall Shively and Infielder Mike O’Rear.

Also worth noting: Wagner’s 69 bases-on-balls and six triples during a career in which he hit .371 after a slow start in Fall ’78; by comparison, he struck out just 34 times in approximately 400 total plate appearances. Four of those triples came as a first-year player and helped the ’78-79 squad set another record with 22 in all.

The ’78-79 Warriors, 16-11 in the Spring and 27-24 overall, also etched their name in the Record Book by bashing rival John A. Logan with a 25-run outburst.

His career totals for teams that were a composite 68-43 included 109 hits in 325 at-bats, including 31 for extra-bases.

Selecting a college may have been a decision made easier for Wagner because he is related to McClure. His mother, Marilyn (Mrs. Wayne Wagner), and McClure’s late wife, Cheryl, were first cousins.

But that had nothing to do with the coach recruiting him.

“He could play. He had two good years at Rend Lake. We were pretty good as a team, and he could play. He was a ‘gamer.’ He was a winner,” according to McClure.

“Scott was not a great practice player, but he was a great ‘gamer.’ It took me about a year to figure that out,” added McClure. (Not literally), “I would just tell him, ‘Game tomorrow at 1,’ and he would be there. He would show up ready to play.”

Baseball players were not lifting weights in those days, “but Scott was real strong naturally. He had the size, a great body and was very, very athletic,” McClure said of a player who played football and basketball as well during his prep days.

Must have had a keen eye at the plate to strike out as few times as he did and walk as often. Unusually fast for a big man, too, huh?

“There were no secrets to it. He could just play,” reiterated his college coach. On the basepaths, “he was just smart. He was a great baserunner because he was smart and knew when to run, when to take the extra base. He did the things good player just do, because he could anticipate what he should do. He was the type of kid you can remember.

“More important than the stats, he was a good person. That team had a number of players like that . . . good guys and winners. You never had to worry about that team giving you any trouble. If they had all been like that, I might still be involved.”

It was a star-studded cast he headed.

All-SICC picks Wagner, Creel and Freshman Denbo shared the cover of the ’79-80 Warrior Baseball Brochure. Denbo, who boasted a Warrior record 67 hits in ’79-80, would go on to become Derek Jeter’s career-long hitting mentor and is his sidekick today as the Vice President of Player Development and Scouting for the Major League Baseball Miami Marlins.

Singled out in two Sports Illustrated articles featuring Jeter within the last couple of years, Denbo is described as “the guru who helped build the Yankees’ minor league system into one of baseball’s best, and the first man Jeter hired in Miami,” according to Tom Verducci in his February 12, 2018 story which quotes Denbo once and singles him out one other time.

Another catching prospect on-campus at the same time, Steve Brown, spent a majority of his Warrior career at first base due to the presence of Wagner. Brown would set a record for doubles as a sophomore and signed to play at University of South Florida-Tampa for MLB Hall-of-Famer Robin Roberts.

Two-sport performer Mark Schwitz set Rend Lake College records with his 1.60 ERA and 33 consecutive free throws made before playing at Indiana Central; he joined Tracy (Hyatt) Steed as original members of The Greater Evansville Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.

Wagner signed with Jacksonville (Ala.) State University, where he was joined by basketball recruit / longtime teammate Creel, but left after one semester.

Like others in his family, Wagner turned to education as a profession. He still lives in Mt. Vernon but is an elementary school Principal in Pinckneyville.

“He is just a great person and educator,” McClure said. “He has a great relationship with kids that age. He is a super disciplinarian; the kids have great respect for him.” 

Scott is married to Margo Wagner, RLC Director of Community and Corporate Education.

Lindsay was a three-time All-State distance runner for the Lady Rams who still holds school records in the 1600M and 3200M Runs and the 3200M Relay. She competed at the college level for Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.

Katie would follow her to SIUC, where she was a career .300 hitter during four seasons playing third base for the Saluki Women. She was named Second-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference in 2009, claiming “Player of the Week” honors twice, and was named to the All-MVC Tournament Team in ’07 and ’09.

Katie also played on the SIUC Women’s Basketball squad, high-jumped for the Track and Field Salukis and was Honorable Mention on the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team as a senior before graduating and serving as an Assistant Softball Coach for Saint Louis University, SIU-Edwardsville, Miami (Ohio) and her alma mater.

• Henderson, who would later become a Correctional Officer at Big Muddy River Correctional Center, was the quiet “Enforcer” for Coach Jim Waugh’s RLC Warriors. The 6-foot-4 Forward was a two-time All-Southern Illinois College Conference First-Team selection who averaged 14.4 points per game both seasons and 12.1 rebounds the first year, 9.1 the next.

Thanks to his record 367 rebounds as a freshman and career mark of 604 (206 offensive and 378 defensive), the Warriors went 38-17, with a best-to-date slate of 20-6 and SICC crown (7-1) in his final season.

• Hyatt was the leading scorer both seasons for the winningest teams back-to-back in Lady Warrior annals – 26-5 in ’86-87 and 25-8 in ’87-88 under Waugh, who by then had requested a shift to the distaff side.

She left RLC as the No. 2 scorer all-time for a program in its 11th year of existence. Her career total of 1,026 points puts the 5-10 forward in select company along with new HOF “teammates” Susie Woodward, Rebecca Harris, Cheryl Weis and Amanda Willoughby. The two-time All-Great Rivers Athletic Conference pick was All-Region XXIV as a sophomore. She averaged 15.7 ppg as a freshman and 17.8 ppg as a returnee.

She is married to former Carmi-White County athlete Tim Steed and is a teacher in that system. She has been serving as the Lady Bulldogs Basketball Coach but recently submitted her resignation.

From the Chicago Tribune:

The Cubs took the cautious route Monday by placing first baseman Anthony Rizzo on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to April 6.

The move, expected to be formally announced Tuesday, will allow Rizzo ample time to be ready for an NL Central showdown against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field starting April 16..

Rizzo, a three-time NL All-Star, is hitting .107 (3-for-28) so far this season. By putting Rizzo on the DL now, the Cubs can make a corresponding move before Tuesday‘s game and be at full strength.

mgonzales@chicagotribune.com

ST. LOUIS — D-backs manager Torey Lovullo doesn’t deny using the vulgar word that set Yadier Molina off and sparked a benches-clearing incident Sunday at Busch Stadium. But Lovullo said Molina misread his intent, which was not personal.

Here’s a link to the story at stlouiscardinals.com.

CARBONDALE, Ill. — The two biggest objectives for the Southern Illinois football team during today’s annual Spring Game were to keep everyone healthy and to give some players further down the depth chart an opportunity to shine. By those measures, today’s 76-play scrimmage pitting the offense against the defense was a success.

When the first and second teams were on the field, quarterbacks were protected and ball carriers were not allowed to be tackled to the ground. The Salukis have lost key players to serious injuries during previous spring games, and head coach Nick Hill was determined not to let that happen today during the team’s final live session of the spring.

“Any time you can get out of spring camp and not have any significant injuries, that is a positive thing,” Hill explained. “That’s why we didn’t go live at the beginning (of the scrimmage). Two years ago, Torian Lewis tore his ACL in this game. We were able to get a lot of good work in just like we do in practice. Then we let some of the young guys there at the end of the scrimmage get some (live) work in.”

Southern has an established senior quarterback in Sam Straub and he played in four series, completing 12-of-20 passes for 104 yards. He led the offense on two scoring drives. The first drive of the scrimmage covered 16 plays and 75 yards and culminated with a Straub four-yard TD pass to tight end Jaylon Graham. On another drive, Straub showed off his powerful arm by completing a 35-yard throw down the middle of the field to running back D.J. Davis, that later led to a field goal.

The Salukis also have the luxury of a seasoned backup in senior Matt DeSomer. At this time last year, he was playing safety, but made a mid-season switch back to quarterback when Straub got hurt. Known best for his elusive running ability, DeSomer made several nice throws today, completing 6-of-8 passes for 55 yards. Defenders were not allowed to tackle him and he mostly stayed in the pocket.

“The lights need to be on, it needs to be live, for him to make plays,” Hill said. “We haven’t let him go live all spring because we need him healthy. He’s a heckuva player and will have an extended role once we get into the season.”

Redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon George saw his first extensive work of the spring and completed 8-of-11 throws for 43 yards, though he was intercepted on a great defensive play by safety Michael Elbert on one throw and was sacked for a 12-yard loss when the offense was in the red zone.

“He’ll learn,” Hill said. “He took a bad sack, but those type of things happen sometimes when you’re a freshman. Make those mistakes now and clean them up and get ready for the year.”

During the second half of the scrimmage, with the starters on the sidelines, the rules changed and ball carriers were allowed to be tackled to the ground. The Salukis know what they have in returning running backs D.J. Davis, Daquan Isom and Jonathan Mixon, so today’s scrimmage featured redshirt freshman D.J. Hampton and Missouri transfer Nate Strong. Both played well. Hampton was the leading rusher with 91 yards on 15 carries.

“We wanted to see D.J. Hampton and Nate Strong get a load of carries today,” Hill said. “You can see (Strong) can be a big, physical back where defensive backs don’t want to tackle him. He’s shown signs of that, now we have to do a good job of getting him physically in shape so he can be a 20-carry guy. D.J. Hampton has shown signs and was able to break tackles at times.”

SIU’s defense, which allowed 27 points per game last year, appears much improved in the team’s second year under coordinator Kraig Paulson. A young defensive line has an extra year of maturity, the linebacking corps looks bigger and faster, and the secondary has a couple of BCS transfers poised to make an impact.

“The defense has kind of set the tone throughout the spring,” Hill said. “This is as deep as we’ve been on defense with guys who can really run and play. It’s such a bonus to be able to redshirt some of those guys. They just come out here with so much more confidence.”

Two redshirt freshman linebackers — Bryson Strong and Bryce Notree — combined for 17 tackles. Elbert, another redshirt freshman, has impressed at safety next to veteran Jeremy Chinn.

“Mike Elbert showed up again today,” Hill said. “He picked Straub off early in camp, which was just an unbelievable play, and today seemed like a really good play. Knowing he has four years around here makes you feel really good.”

“There’s playmakers back there (at safety) in Jeremy Chinn, (James) Ceasar and Elbert,” he continued. “The guys we brought in — Madre Harper is probably the biggest corner in the country and is a high-level player, and Torian Lewis has had the best camp since he’s been here. Our linebackers are fast and can move, and it starts up front. Our defensive line is young and they’re growing and in the right spots making plays. At all three levels we’ve gotten better.”

The Salukis have one more practice with the team next week, but Hill said it would just be a light walk-through without pads or helmets.

“We always felt like we wish we had one more practice after the spring game that we could talk about what we want to work on, what we want to emphasize for the summer,” he said.

Southern opens fall camp during the first week of August and begins the regular season at Murray State on Aug. 30.


RUSHING

D.J. Hampton: 15-91
D.J. Davis, 6-30
Chris Perkins: 6-25
Nate Strong: 8-19
E’Mare Hogan: 2-15
Jonathan Mixon, 2-6
Matt DeSomer: 1-9
Sam Straub: 1-(-5)
Stone Labanowitz: 1-(-6)
Brandon George 5-(-7)

PASSING

Sam Straub: 12-20, 104 yards, 1 TD
Matt DeSomer: 6-8, 55 yards
Brandon George: 8-11, 43 yards, 1 INT
Stone Labanowitz: 3-5, 18 yards

RECEIVING

E’Mare Hogan: 7-44
Darrell James: 4-11
Landon Lenoir: 3-17
Cole Steward: 3-11
Jake Varble: 2-28
Sam Thompson: 2-27
Matt Quarells: 2-20
Raphael Leonard: 2-9
Jaylon Graham: 2-8, 1 TD
D.J. Davis: 1-9
Nate Strong: 1-7
D.J. Hampton: 1-3

DEFENSE

Bryson Strong: 9 T, 1 PBU
Bryce Notree: 8 T
Jaylen Waters: 5 T, 1/2 TFL
Withney Simon: 5 T, 1 TFL
Michael Elbert: 5 T, 1/2 TFL, 1 INT, 1 PBU
James Ceasar: 5 T, 1 PBU
Qua Brown: 5 T, 1 TFL
Anthony Knighton: 4 T
Raquan Lindsey: 4 T, 1 TFL, 1 Sack
Terrance Henley: 4 T, 1 FF
Madre Harper: 3 T
Luke Giegling: 3 T
Coleton Jeralds: 3 T, 2 PBU
Titus Booker: 3 T
Jeremy Chinn: 2 T, 2 PBU
Malik Haynes: 2 T, 2 TFL, 1 Sack
Jaylin Wilson: 2 T, 1 TFL, 1 Sack
ZeVeyon Furcron: 2 T
Joe Patterson: 2 T
Makel Calhoun: 2 T, 1 FF
Nick Raby: 1 T, 1 TFL
Jordan Berner: 1 T, 1 TFL, 1 Sack
Tory Lewis: 1 T
Devin Jones: 1 T
Oliver McDowell: 1 T
Chucky Sullivan: 1 T

CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Southern Illinois women’s basketball team celebrated the 2017-18 season with its annual end-of-the-year banquet Sunday, April 8. Kylie Giebelhausen was named the Team’s MVP for the second-consecutive season.

Kylie Giebelhausen was named the Team’s MVP for the second-consecutive season.

Giebelhausen had a terrific senior season in which she earned First-Team All-MVC honors after she finished the 2017-18 season ranked in the top-10 of the Missouri Valley Conference in seven statistical categories, including scoring (7th), assists (10th), three-point field goal percentage (3rd), three-pointers made (1st), blocked shots (7th), defensive rebounds (10th) and minutes played (2nd). The East Peoria, Ill. native took home a total of five awards Sunday, including the Saluki Swag award.

The Saluki Assist Award went to Brittney Patrick. Patrick earned the starting point guard spot midway through the 2017-18 season and led the team with 91 assists, including a career-high eight assists to just one turnover in SIU’s 63-62 win at Bradley on Jan. 12. Patrick also shared “Most Improved” honors with Ashley Hummel.

Abby Brockmeyer took home the Saluki Rebounding Award. She finished the season ranked third in the Missouri Valley Conference in rebounds per game (6.9/game) and her 6.9 rebounds per game were tied for the 15th most nationally among freshmen. The 2018 MVC Freshman of the Year grabbed a total of 213 rebounds, which are the fifth-most in a single-season by a freshman in program history.

Rachel Pudlowski claimed the Saluki Hustle Award and a share of the Saluki Defensive Award. A tenacious defender with a penchant for floor burns, Pudlowski became a fan favorite early on during her freshman year with her defensive intensity and appeared in all 31 games during her first season as a Saluki. 

The banquet also marked the end of Giebelhausen’s career. Ashley Hummel spoke on Kylie’s behalf before the crowd was treated to several videos of Kylie’s teammates discussing their favorite memories of the two-time All-MVC selection, as well as a light-hearted video of Salukis attempting to spell “Giebelhausen”.

The Salukis finished the season with a 17-14 overall record and a 11-7 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play, which marked the fourth-straight season in which SIU has finished with a winning record.

Complete list of postseason award winners:
Team MVP: Kylie Giebelhausen 
Leading Scorer: Nicole Martin
Assist Award: Brittney Patrick
Rebounding Award: Abby Brockmeyer
Defensive Award: Brittney Patrick and Rachel Pudlowski
Hustle Award: Rachel Pudlowski
Free Throw Percentage Award: Makenzie Silvey
Most Improved Award: Brittney Patrick and Ashley Hummel
Preseason Conditioning Award: Kylie Giebelhausen
Non-Conference Point Leader: Kylie Giebelhausen
MVC Point Leader: Kylie Giebelhausen
Saluki Swag Award (for work ethic, toughness, trust and integrity): Abby Brockmeyer and Kylie Giebelhausen