2021-22 Southern Illinois Women's Basketball Season Preview
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COVID-19 schedule interruptions and quarantines took a big toll on many teams across the country last season, but Southern Illinois women’s basketball was hit particularly hard.
“We never felt like we had a true sense of what type of team we were, because we never had everybody healthy or playing together consistently,” head coach Cindy Stein said of the 2020-21 season. “Last year I felt like it was a year of survival. So we're looking forward to this year and having a much better year.”
As the Salukis turn towards the 2021-22 season, they have a solid foundation to achieve that goal. They return nearly 90 percent of their minutes from last season, while adding to their depth with four freshmen. Three of last year’s seniors opted to stay for their extra year of eligibility, building a strong leadership foundation for the upcoming season. With the building blocks for a successful season in place on their roster, the coaching staff is taking a day-to-day approach to building towards what they want to see this season.
“We have really focused on just getting better every day and learning, being coachable and really concentrating a lot on our culture,” Stein said. “We really don't focus that much on the long term, because if we focus on the short term we feel like we'll get there.”
That short-term focus has started with raised expectations in practice, something the Salukis have responded to well so far.
“We’ve told them our expectations are high and we’ve raised our standards in everything – from shooting drills to defensive drills, we’ve raised our expectations in everything that we do,” Stein said.
While expectations are high across the board, there is of course an emphasis on what Southern Illinois expects from their three returning fifth-year players, which will likely set the tone for the season.
At the center of that trio is Makenzie Silvey, Southern Illinois’ All-MVC first team selection last year. Silvey led the team in scoring, rebounds and assists during the 2020-21 season, and will be heavily relied on once again during her 2021-22 campaign. While expectations for Silvey on the court will continue to be high as she looks to follow up on a great senior performance, the coaching staff has also placed emphasis on her leadership as far as helping the freshmen adjust, which will play an important role in extending the team’s depth this season.
Southern Illinois will also return Abby Brockmeyer, who was only able to play in 12 games during her senior season. The absence of Brockmeyer was a tough break for the team last year.
“That's a young lady that was probably having a first-team all-conference season, but she was also the most quarantined kid on our team,” Stein said of Brockmeyer. “She didn't get a chance to show that last year because she started out really well, then the conference started and she was quarantined all the time.”
The return of Brockmeyer in and of itself will be a big step forward for the Salukis. She averaged 14.3 points in the games she was able to suit up for last season and provides a needed additional offensive weapon. She also averaged 8.3 rebounds per game in those appearances and is a player that Stein noted they look for a double-double out of every night. Having her back in the mix changes the offensive picture.
Rounding out Southern Illinois’ trio of fifth-year players is Gabby Walker. Walker was the Salukis’ only other double-figure scorer in the 2020-21 season, averaging 10.4 points per game. Walker may get overlooked behind Silvey and Brockmeyer, but she’s a player that Stein and the coaching staff have very high expectations for this season.
Walker isn’t the only one that may get overlooked, as Stein looks at her teams as a bit of an underdog in the conference this season despite returning Silvey, Brockmeyer and Walker alongside the rest of Southern Illinois’ core.
“I do think we'll probably get overlooked a little bit because we didn't finish great last year. I think that's been our motivation, as well,” Stein said. “We know we're better but now we have to prove it.”
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