Its not Illinois States longest Missouri Valley Conference road tripthe excursion to SMS and Wichita State is beats it by more than 200 milesbut, for more than a decade, the results of the Drake-Creighton road trips have made them long for the Redbird womens basketball. That trip is No. 1 in the Missouri Valley for ISU this year, and starts with a 7:05 p.m. Thursday meeting at Drake and continues with a 3:05 p.m. Saturday contest at Creighton.
Illinois State, 4-6, 1-0 in the Valley, has not won in Des Moines since Jan. 4, 1994. At least the Birds have won in Des MoinesISU is looking for its first win in 14 tries against Creighton in Omaha.
But thats all from the history books. The Redbirds bring some strong weapons and one of the nations hottest three-point shooting teams into Drakes Knapp Center. Illinois State has hit 10 or more three-point field goals in each of its last three games38 made in 75 attempts (.507) in all. The shooting of Jaci McCormack (12-20),
Megan McCracken (12-21), Katie Donovan (7-17) and Amber Shelton (6-11) has given the Redbirds balance and efficiency during the recent three-point barrage which has netted 114 of ISUs 225 points in those three contests.
Illinois States 16 treys against Illinois broke the Missouri Valley Conference single-game record and are the second-highest team total for a game this season (Valparaiso hit 17 three-pointers Dec. 8 against Central Michigan).
Drake, 6-5, 1-1 in the Valley, has only used eight players this season, but four of those eight average in double figures scoring in the balanced Bulldog offense. Jill Martin leads the Drake scorers with 12.5 points per game and is No. 3 in the Valley in rebounding with 7.5 per contest. Point guard Linda Sayavongchanh averages 11.4 points per game and is No. 4 in the league in both assists and steals.
The Redbirds return home against defending Missouri Valley Conference Champion SMS at 7:05 p.m. Friday, Jan. 14 in Redbird Arena.
