Santa Claus was prowling the sidelines of the Valparaiso Athletics-Recreation Center but it was the Illinois State womens basketball teams defense which produced the present every basketball team wants in time for Christmas: a victory.
In this case, Illinois States 60-56 win at Valparaiso ended a six-game losing streak and made Redbird coach
Jenny Yopp feel like a kid on Christmas Day as she was presented with a textbook example of ISUs aggressive 94-40 style of play in the first half. In the second half, the Redbirds made enough key plays to turn back a better shooting Valpo team which slowed the game, and the Redbirds, down with a zone defense.
The game was an early Christmas gift for us, said Yopp. We werent able to sustain our effort in the second half, but our team has worked hard all week and earned a victory. We havent been in this position this year, to have a lead and have a team make a run at you but you have to take care of the ball, keep attacking and not play not to lose.
Jaci McCormackJaci McCormack led the Birds with a career-high 18 points.
Nadia Peruch and
Sharon Blade also were in double figures with 10 each. Jeanette Gray led VU with 20 and Suzie Hammel added 14, nine on three-pointers.
The Redbirds, 2-7, won for the first time in more than a month by out-rebounding the taller Crusaders, 2-8, by a 42-38 margin led by Blades seven, out-shooting VU .391 to .375 from the field.
After Redbird turnovers on their first three possessions resulted in a 4-0 deficit, McCormack keyed a 19-2 run over the next eight minutes. McCormack scored nine of those 19 points as ISU hit 7 of 14 shots.
Yopp was impressed with McCormacks leadership, which included four assists and three steals.
Jaci has shown that she is ready to compete, said Yopp. She is an exciting player with the ball in her hands and were looking forward to her continuing to improve on defense.
The first half lead grew to as many as 32-16 as the ISU defense created offensive opportunities and forced Valpos offense to the perimeter. The halftime edge was 32-19, Birds as ISU finished with only five turnovers
Valpos zone slowed the Redbirds and tamed the pace in the second half. A pair of three-pointers by Hammel helped bring the Crusaders back within 37-33 as Valpo out-scored ISU 14-5 in the first eight minutes of the second half.
VU was within 39-34 when McCormack got going again. She drove for a short jumper, buried a three from the baseline and stripped the ball from Kathryn Knoester and beat the defense down the floor for a layup, then set-up Blade for a short jumper to put ISU up 48-38 with 7:54 left.
But Valpo rode six free throws to cut the lead to 55-51 with 2:08 left when
Kellie Johnson picked up a key steal which led to a Peruch layup and a 57-51 lead into the final minutes.
Kellie had been struggling on the court but made some big plays when it counted and gave us the veteran leadership we needed, said Yopp.
Shandeen Hunt buried two free throws to put the lead at 59-51 but Gray fired-in a three with 24 seconds left to cut the lead to six and, after Reichle hit a free throw, Gary made a layup at 0:12 to cut it to four. But ISU inbounded the ball and played keep-away, running out the clock before VU could even get a foul.
Junior center
Kristi Larson made her first appearance of the season after recovering from foot injuries. She played just four minutes and didnt score, but Yopp was glad to see her 6-foot-4 post player on the floor.
She has practiced well the past few days, said Yopp. She didnt play many minutes, but we were glad to get her out there and hope she will be ready to make bigger contributions during the conference season.
Illinois State opens the Missouri Valley Conference season Dec. 30 at Redbird Arena against Bradley.
