Nov. 21, 2005
A 2-0 start was good enough for Illinois State's women's basketball team to capture both Missouri Valley Conference weekly honors as senior forward Holly Hallstrom is State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week and freshman guard Kristi Cirone is State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week.
Holly Hallstrom, who didn't start either game, scored 17 of her game-high 21 points in the second half at Chicago State to lead a 70-63 comeback victory by Illinois State (the 'Birds trailed by as many as 13 in the second half) on Friday night. She followed that with a career-high 24 points, plus eight rebounds and three steals, in an 82-56 thumping of Loyola on Sunday at Redbird Arena.
In the two games, Hallstrom shot 63 percent (17-27) from the field, 92 percent (11-12) from the free throw line, had 17 rebounds, four steals, an assist and a blocked shot as the Redbirds opened the season with back-to-back wins despite losing top returning scorer Megan McCracken earlier in the week to a hip injury. The 6-foot-2 forward from Moline, Ill., averaged 22.5 points and 8.5 rebounds coming off the Redbird bench.
Illinois State associate head coach Randy Norton was impressed with Hallstrom's `attack mentality.'
"Holly has just been relentless," said Norton. "As (head coach) Robin (Pingeton) likes to say, she comes of the bench like a caged lion. Holly is a tough match-up for people because she is big, quick and athletic. I'm most impressed with how she plays aggressively, but still is relaxed. The work she has put in during the off-season and the improvements she has made in getting to know our system really show."
Hallstrom is the first Redbird player to earn Valley Player of the Week honors since Jaci McCormack was selected Jan. 5, 2004. Cirone joins Hallstrom and McCracken as the only Redbirds to earn Valley Newcomer of the Week in the three-year history of the honor.
The 5-foot-8 graduate of Chicago's Resurrection High School became the first freshman in Illinois State history to collect a points-assists double-double when she had 11 points, 10 assists, four rebounds and three steals to lead the Redbird over Loyola. In the season-opening win at Chicago State, she had 13 points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals as ISU came back from a 13-point second-half deficit to win. For the weekend, Cirone averaged 12 points, 8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals while shooting 28 percent from the field and 82 percent from the free throw line.
"The great thing about Kristi is her ability to see the floor and get the basketball to her teammates in position to score," said Norton. "Lots of guards can pass, but she sets up teammates to score. There's a big difference. She also has tremendous anticipation defensively; that's important to have when you have a pressing team like we do."
The Redbirds' next game is against Northern Illinois at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Redbird Arena. It's the second half of men's/women's basketball doubleheader--the men play Western Michigan at 2 p.m. Fans with tickets to the women's game can enter the men's game with those tickets (and find seating in Upper Bowl Sections C&D), and men's game tickets will be honored for the women's game as well. Women's game patrons can park in S-81 or G-82 by presenting a women's game ticket anytime during the men's game.
