Illinois State wants to go back to Normal with a win. Wichita State wants another trip to Normal, and a win over Illinois State in the 7:05 p.m. Saturday matchup with the Redbirds would certainly improve the Shockers chances.
Wichita State, 5-16 overall, 2-10 in the Missouri Valley Conference, is in ninth place, two wins behind both Illinois State and Drake. The Shockers have lost four in a row and eight out of nine, but took a red-hot Indiana State team to overtime on Thursday before falling 81-74the Sycamores eighth straight win.
Robin Pingeton knows her Illinois State team will take the best shot possible from the Shockers, led by former Northern Illinois and Wisconsin head coach Jane Albright.
This team has shown signs lately, said Pingeton, whose Redbirds are 7-14 overall, 4-8 in the Valley after a 72-64 Thursday loss at SMS. Jane is doing a great job with a very young group. They obviously will be ready for us after playing Indiana State so tough.
Freshman guards Kiki Stephens and Taylor Steven are two reasons WSUs future is looking up. Stephens leads WSU with 11.2 points per game while Steven is the team leader in assists with 3.5 per game. Unlike SMS and Illinois State, the Shockers disdain the three-pointerthey attempt fewer than 10 per game and shoot just 24 percent from beyond the arc.
Pingeton was generally happy with the way her team played at SMS, where the Bears shot 32 free throws to just 13 for Illinois State.
SMS is a tough place to play, but we answered every one of their runs, said Pingeton. Despite some breakdowns on our part, I think we can look at a lot of positives. The difference in the game was at the free throw line and that certainly wasnt to our advantage.
Holly Hallstroms 17 pointsall in the second halfgave ISU one of its strongest offensive outputs from the post all season. Sophie Tirtiaux, who made her first start of the season, added nine points inside for ISU despite being in foul trouble much of the last 30 minutes of the game. Katie Donovan had 12 points and seven rebounds before fouling out in the final seconds.
Jaci McCormack continues her solid playthe senior guard has been a stat-sheet stuffer during conference play, averaging 12.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game. She and Redbird legend Jenny Schmidt are the only players in Redbird history to reach 250 assists, 150 steals and 150 three-point field goals in their careers.
Jaci is just playing great basketball right now, said Pingeton. We need to come out against Wichita State and stay focused.
After the Wichita State game, the Redbirds return home for their final two games of the season, Thursday against Northern Iowa and the following Sunday against Bradley, both in Redbird Arena.
