Katie Donovan's shots weren't falling, but she found her teammates with three straight assists in the final four minutes to help Illinois State beat Loyola 62-58 Saturday in the Gentile Center. With the score tied 54-54, Donovan hit
Megan McCracken for a three, then Holly Hallstrom and Amber Shelton for layups and ISU had the points it needed to win.
"No. 3 (Meshkenet Lands) was sticking pretty close to me," said Donovan who had just seven points. "I just was able to get the ball to people so we could score that way."
Redbird coach Robin Pingeton was pleased with those plays and with Donovan's team-high 10 rebounds.
"I'm proud of Katie Donovan," said Pingeton. "She was frustrated a little bit, but she came in and found her teammates at the end. She found the open man and used her teammates. She also worked hard for her 10 boards."
McCracken led the Redbirds with 15 points and Amber Shelton added a career-high 14. ISU shot 44 percent for the game and forced 22 turnovers, including 16 on steals. McCracken had five of those steals for a career high, and freshman Tiffany Hudson added a career-best five assists with no turnovers in 11 minutes.
The Redbirds, 3-4, missed their first six shots and fell behind 7-0 at the start before Hallstrom hit the first of two free throws. Donovan rebounded the second and set-up Shelton for the first ISU field goal of the game with 16:15 left in the half. ISU battled to even at 12-12 thanks to three McCracken baskets in just 27 seconds--all off ISU steals; two interceptions by McCracken and a third theft by Lashawn Johnson.
"We got things going with the press in the first half," said Pingeton. "Later in the game, we buckled down and played good man-to-man defense when we had to."
ISU made just eight of its first 23 field goal tries and, despite strong defense, couldn't separate from Loyola. The Ramblers led 24-22 when Donovan scored back-to-back baskets and added a free throw within just 43 seconds and ISU led 27-24.
Illinois State led by as many as seven in the second half, but Loyola stayed close and battled to a 54-54 tie with 3:54 left on a pair of Jenna Real free throws. But Donovan's passes got ISU a seven-point lead and the Redbird defense did the rest, limiting Loyola to just one basket and two free throws in the final minutes.
The Ramblers, 3-7, had a 47-37 rebounding lead for the game. Ciara Henderson led the Ramblers with 15 points. The Redbirds return to Redbird Arena for a pair of games before Christmas starting with a 2:05 p.m. Dec. 19 game with Texas-El Paso and then a 7:05 p.m. Dec. 21 game with Illinois.
