Katie Donovan scored 16 of her game-high 29 points in the first half to lead Illinois State past Odyssey 94-62 in an exhibition college basketball game Sunday at Redbird Arena.
ISU led 15-14 at the 13:50 mark of the first half. After Michelle Harakas hit the first of two free throws, the Redbirds got the rebound on the second and a Donovan three-pointer got ISU rolling on a 14-2 run to take a 29-16 lead on Sara Stevensons three-pointer with 8:23 left.
The Birds kept building on that lead with the help of a defense which had eight steals in the first half, four of them by Desiree Gutierrez. ISU led 48-27 at halftime.
ISU led its first exhibition game 49-24 at halftime, but faltered in the second half. This time, Zora Skrabalova keyed a fast second-half start. In the first six minutes, the 6-foot-5 senior had eight points, five rebounds, a blocked shot, an assist and took a charge. With Skrabalovas scoring plus a couple of three-pointers by Beth Huston, ISUs lead grew to 69-39 in the first six minutes after halftime.
The Birds continued to feature the three-pointer. They shot 9 of 31 in the first exhibition and hit 11 of 31 against Odyssey. The regular-season school records are 11 made and 30 attempted. ISU shot 51.5 percent to 33.8 for Odyssey for the game. Erin Keeney backed Donovans play with 15 points and 8 rebounds.
Their shooters did a great job of putting the ball down, said Odyssey coach Keith Kula. I think the people here should be very excited about Robin Pingeton and what she will do here. I knew her when she was (head coach) at St. Ambrose. She knows how to get the most out of her team and keep her team motivated.
ISU alum Mary Jane (Johnson) Hibben was impressed with her alma mater.
Im excited. Ive been to two or three games a year since I graduated (1997) and this team looks like it plays hard with intensity and will put on a good show, said Hibben. This team is more of a push it up team than we had, but the same defense and discipline as when I played appears to be there.
Pingeton thought her team gave a good effort, but still sees room for improvement.
Giving up 25 offensive rebounds is unacceptable, but I think our team has done a great job of playing team basketball, said Pingeton. With 24 assists on 35 field goals were making the extra pass. I think we had some people struggling to shoot the ball and still scored 94 points and thats encouraging to me.
The Redbirds open the regular season at 7:05 p.m. Nov. 26 vs. Air Force at Redbird Arena.
