Two weeks ago, the Illinois State University women's basketball team was 1-3 and had just lost its third straight game by 20 points or more. But its head coach, Robin Pingeton, projected unwavering optimism.
"I believe in this team and I truly believe we could go into Christmas 5-3," Pingeton said. Well, all that would take would be four straight wins in just an eight-day period--something no Redbird team had done since 1990--and the longest Redbird winning streak since January, 1997.
Whether Pingeton didn't know the above facts or didn't care no longer seems to matter. Because the Redbirds head for Indianapolis to play Butler on Sunday with a chance to make Pingeton's believe a reality.
Illinois State's three wins in five days came with some impressive team accomplishments on defense. The first win, a 74-64 decision over Illinois-Chicago, came with the Redbird defense limiting the Flames to the lowest opponent field goal percentage at Redbird Arena (29.5 percent) since Feb., 1996. The most recent triumph, a 62-38 win over Portland State, featured the fewest points by a Redbird opponent in a game at Redbird Arena and the lowest opponent point total in 10 years on any floor.
Katie Donovan continues to lead the scoring parade for ISU with 20 points per game, but Zora Skrabalova, Jaci McCormack and Taren O'Brien have moved into solid leadership roles as well.
Skrabalova, the Prairie Farms-Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week, has averaged 14.7 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.3 blocks while shooting 64 percent from the field and 83 percent from the free throw line.
McCormack's 13 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists have pumped-up the offense and her 4.0 steals per game have fueled the defense. O'Brien's 4.7 assists lead the Redbird offense and the Valley and her 13 steals during the winning streak have created plenty of layup chances at the ISU basket.
With defenses zeroing in on Donovan's scoring, the junior guard has continued to produce her points, but added 17 assists in those three wins.
Perhaps more significant than Butler's 3-6 record is the fact that the Bulldogs have had seven days to prepare and already own victories over a pair of Missouri Valley Conference members, Bradley and Evansville.
A win over Butler would give the 'Birds five regular-season non-conference victories and guarantee a plus+.500 non-league record for the first time since 1990-91 and just the fifth time in 21 league campaigns.
ISU still has one more non-conference match-up--a 7:05 p.m. Dec. 30 date with the University of Portland--before opening the league slate at 7:05 p.m. Jan. 2 against Northern Iowa. Both games are at Redbird Arena.
