NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team looks to continue its ascent of the Missouri Valley Conference standings with games against the MVC's first- and second-place teams this weekend on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
After climbing to seventh place in the league standings after wins in three of their past five games, the Redbirds host league-leading Drake on Friday and second-place Northern Iowa on Sunday. Both games are set for 7 p.m. starts.
Illinois State (6-15, 4-6 MVC) returns to action this weekend after securing a 73-62 win over visiting Indiana State on Feb. 5, as Shakeela Fowler's 19 points led all players. The Redbirds made a season-high nine 3-pointers in the win, and the team's 60 percent (9-for-15) mark from three-point territory was the best three-point shooting percentage turned in by a Valley team this season.
Fowler was joined by four other Redbirds scoring in double figures in the win, as Octavia Crump scored 15, Colleene Smith tallied 14, Katrina Beck added 11 and Viria Livingston chipped in 10. It marked the first time in over three years that five Redbirds reached double digits in points, dating back to a Jan. 19, 2013 win over Southern Illinois.
Drake (16-6, 9-2) and Northern Iowa (13-9, 8-3) enter this weekend's slate ranking atop the league standings. Northern Iowa is also tied with Missouri State (15-8, 8-3) and Loyola (12-10, 8-3) for second place in the conference.
Drake's potent offense leads the Valley at 80.6 points per game – 10 more points than the next highest-scoring team. Junior forward Lizzy Wendell leads the way with a Valley-high 20.3 points per game scoring average, while freshman forward Sara Rhine adds 12.6 points per game off the bench, thanks to a league-best 62.1 field goal percentage. Junior guard Caitlin Ingle leads the Valley in assists, at 6.7 per contest.
Northern Iowa has played its way into a share of second place in the MVC standings using strong defense and three-point shooting. The Panthers allow the second-fewest points (59.8 per game) among Valley teams, while owning the league's best turnover margin (plus-3.32) and turnover-to-assist ratio (1.2). Northern Iowa averages a league-high 7.8 triples per game, with Madison Weekly (17.0 ppg) and Amber Sorenson (13.8 ppg) both ranking among the league's top shooters from behind the three-point arc.
Drake holds a slight edge in the all-time series against Illinois State, with 37 wins against 35 losses. Illinois State is 42-30 all-time against the Panthers.
Tickets for both games can be purchased at the Illinois State Ticket Office, by calling (309) 438-8000, or by visiting GoRedbirds.com/tickets. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN3, and links for live video, audio and stats can be found at GoRedbirds.com. Fans can also receive live updates from the game by following @Redbirdwbb on Twitter.
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