SOUTHERN ILLINOIS DEFEATS MERCER 62-59
Salukis Advance to Championship Game vs. Long Beach State/Belmont December 20, 2002 LONG BEACH, CA – Southern Illinois (4-3) held on to defeat Mercer (0-6), 62-59, to advance to the championship game of the 15th annual San Pedro Hilton Beach Classic. They await the winner of the Long Beach State-Belmont game at 7:30 p.m. PST. Southern Illinois used a 9-3 run to go up early in the second half, 43-35. The Salukis stretched their lead by 12 points, 56-44, with 11 minutes left, after a layup by Katie Berwanger. The Bears made a late run to within three, 62-59, with 39 seconds left to play after a layup by Lee Lee Cannon. With a chance to tie the game, Mercer's April Dyer put up a three-pointer at the buzzer that just fell short, giving the victory to the Salukis. Leading SIU in scoring was Molly McDowell with 18 points and added nine rebounds and four assists. Jodi Helden chipped in 14 points and grabbed ten rebounds. SIU shot 33% from the field in the game. Leading scorers for Mercer were Dyer with 14 and Dana Zimmerman with 13. Dyer also picked up nine rebounds on the defensive side. Mercer shot 37% from the field. The Salukis used a 12-2 run to close out the half to lead 32-28. Hilary Phillips driving layup with 2:21 left gave back the lead to SIU at 28-26. The Salukis earned thirteen of those points from the charity stripe, going 13-of-14. Mercer went on a 10-4 run to give the Bears their biggest lead of the half, 19-14, with 9:59 left. SIU tied it up, 20-20, with 6:32 left off a layup by Stephanie Brown. The Bears went on a 4-0 run to stretch their lead back to 24-20 with 4:48 left, from a layup by Cannon. The consolation game featuring Mercer and the loser of the 7:30 p.m. game between Long Beach State and Belmont-TN will be at 5 p.m. on Saturday, following by the championship game with Southern Illinois playing the winner of the latter game at 7:30 p.m.
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