Katie Donovan had 17 points, Jaci McCormack added 13 and
Megan McCracken 10 as Illinois State defeated Wichita State 76-53 in a Missouri Valley Conference womens basketball game Sunday at Redbird Arena. WSU led 43-42 early in the second half, but Illinois State used a 19-1 run to open a 17-point lead on the way to ending a three-game losing streak.
Holly Hallstroms 15 rebounds were the sixth highest total by a Redbird player in the 16-year history of Redbird Arena. The junior added nine points for the Birds.
Illinois State (5-9, 2-3) jumped out to an early lead in the first half on a game opening three-pointer by McCormack. McCracken, who combined with McCormack to go 0-12 from behind the arc in the Redbirds last contest, also drained a three at the 16:46 minute mark to give Illinois State a 12-7 advantage. The Birds then went on a 9-4 run with Amber Shelton, McCracken, McCormack and Donovan contributing in the scoring attack for a 21-13 lead.
From that point the two teams went shot for shot, as the Birds maintained their nine point lead until the 8:10 mark with a score of 31-22. The momentum shifted, however, and the Shockers (4-11, 1-5) made a comeback as Kelsy Richardson hit a jumper, which was followed by a pair from Taylor Steven, a lay-up from Kiki Stephens and another Richardson jumper to put the Shockers back in the hunt. The Birds nine-point advantage shrank to three in a matter of minutes, with the halftime score 33-30.
The Birds regained their command in the second half, allowing the Shockers within one in the first seconds, but blowing the game wide open minutes later. The two teams went shot for shot for the first five minutes, with the Shockers taking a 43-42 lead, their first of the game, just before the 15-minute mark. Donovan then opened up a 19-1 Illinois State run draining a shot just inches from the arc. Back to back threes by Sophie Tirtiaux and Donovan gave the Birds a 50-43 advantage.
McCracken, Holly Hallstrom and Lashawn Johnson all chipped in during the run, which made the score 61-44 at the 7:07 mark. The Shockers did their best to light a fire of their own, but the Redbirds stayed tough to finish out the game in a 76-53 victory. McCormack credited the Redbirds ability to accomplish the scoring run to their execution on the defensive end.
We always talk about how much our defense fuels our offense, said McCormack. We just kept getting those stops and that led to open looks and good shots on our end.
Hallstrom agreed, The difference in the second half was definitely the stops we got defensively, said Hallstrom. We came out after halftime ready to go, ready to fight, we got those stops and were able to turn them into points.
Wichita State head coach Jane Albright credited the Illinois State team for giving the Shockers a different kind of competition than theyve seen so far, as well as the veteran Redbird players for hitting shots for the Birds when they needed it most.
They really used their experienced players to make some big shots, said Albright. Theyve got Donovan and some other good, experienced kids to take over and hit the big shots. I thought Holly (Hallstrom) was also one of the biggest differences in the game, we are not used to getting out-rebounded like that. Our pattern has typically been we get out run by the last ten minutes, but tonight we just got outplayed.
Illinois State head coach Robin Pingeton, who started McCormack and four freshmen, was pleased with the play of her players, both young and old.
I felt like we needed to make some adjustments and find a sense of urgency in this game, said Pingeton.. I was really proud of the way our kids handled the adjustments, proud of the young kids and our old kids playing the way they did. Tonight was a great team win, everybody just did a great job, and now we need to make it a consistent thing. The way we played in the second half is how I expect our players to play every game, thats what theyre capable of doing every game, and we need to maintain some consistency from that performance today.
The Birds return to the court for a pair of road games Friday against Bradley, then travel to Northern Iowa Saturday. The next home stand for the Birds is scheduled for January 27 at 7:05 against the Purple Aces of Evansville.
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