Clayton, Holt, Motsinger ready for Hall Call
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ This Saturday will be a huge night for SIC athletics, and it will come one week after the 2010-11 men's and women's basketball teams from Southeastern Illinois College both scored upsets over top-10 teams at Deaton Gymnasium on Saturday.
The Lady Falcons opened the day with a 58-50 win over the Wabash Valley women, who came into the game ranked seventh in the nation. That was followed by the SIC men claiming a thrilling, 83-82 overtime win over the Wabash Valley men, who came into the game ranked fifth in the country.
After mid-week games on Wednesday at Vincennes, the two squads will host their counterparts from Southwestern Illinois College this Saturday, as part of an evening that will honor the best of current and former SIC athletics.
The women's game tips at 5:30 p.m. At halftime of that contest, sophomores from the men's basketball team and women's softball team will be honored.
Between games - at roughly 7 p.m. - SIC will induct its 2011 Athletic Hall of Fame class. This year's three inductees are:
DENISE CLAYTON -
Clayton was one of the most versatile individual athletes in SIC history, competing in basketball, softball and volleyball at SIC from 1977 through 1979. She was an all-conference selection in both basketball and softball. After graduating from SIC, Clayton continued her education and playing career at what was then Indiana State University-Evansville - now the University of Southern Indiana. She later received a Bachelor of Science in History from SIU in 1986, and a Master of Science in Education in 2005 from Eastern Illinois University. Clayton served as a basketball and softball coach at Eldorado from 1979 to 1982, as a junior high basketball coach for Harrisburg from 1983-1991, and has spent the last two years as co-head coach of the Harrisburg High School Lady Bulldogs basketball team.
AMBER HOLT -
Holt was a star women's basketball player at Southeastern Illinois College from 2004 to 2006. Her 1,537 points rank second on the all-time women's scoring list. During her career, Holt helped lead SIC to two national tournaments, finishing 8th in 2005 and 5th in the 2006 season. She was a two-time all-conference and all-region selection, and was named second-team All-American in 2005, and first-team all-American in 2006. After her stint at SIC, she continued her career at Middle Tennessee State University, where she led the NCAA in scoring in her senior season, averaging 27.3 points per game. Holt was drafted by the WNBA's Connecticut Sun, garnering All-Rookie honors after her first season. She is currently a member of the WNBA's Tulsa Shock - and in the WNBA offseason, she plays for Sopron, a team based in Hungary.
MARK MOTSINGER -
Motsinger served as a water and towel boy from 1967 to 1973, then played from 1979-81, for his father Virgil's SIC men's program. Mark Motsinger then returned to SIC in 1986 as head coach for the women's program and built the lasting success that brought him the SIC Athletic Hall of Fame honor. Coaching the Lady Falcons for 16 years, he built a record of 396 wins against just 115 losses, including a 1990 trip to the national tournament. He is currently the head coach for the Carrier Mills High School basketball team, with a career, combined total of more than 560 victories. He was named to the IBCA Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 2009. Mark and his wife, Suzanne, own and operate S&M Fitness in Harrisburg. Mark is also the current USA Powerlifting State Chairman, and coached Team USA in the 2001 World Powerlifting Championship in Russia. Mark and Suzanne have three children - Adam, Caleb and Gabriel.
Following the Hall of Fame ceremony, the men's game will tip off at roughly 7:30 p.m. At halftime of that contest, sophomores from the women's basketball and men's baseball teams will be honored.
The public is encouraged to come out and pack Deaton Gym to root on the current Falcons and pay tribute to the legends being enshrined.