Illinois State coach Robin Pingeton remembers Senior Day for her team a year ago and hopes this year's group learned from last year's 71-67 loss to Wichita State. She hopes that lesson produces a different result when her six seniors are honored following Sunday's 2:05 p.m. match with Bradley at Redbird Arena.
Following Sunday's game, the 'Birds will honor seniors Katie Donovan, Michelle Harakas, Erin Keeney, Chris Kutschinski, Jaci McCormack and Sophie Tirtiaux for their contributions to Redbird basketball.
Donovan likely will finish her career in the top 10 in points, rebounds and assists at Illinois State. McCormack and Jenny Schmidt are the only Redbirds with 1,000 points, 250 assists, 150 three-pointers and 150 steals in their careers. Keeney is among the top 10 in career three-pointers at ISU, while Harakas has contributed four years of steady play as both a starter and reserve in the post. Tirtiaux has played just three seasons because of foot injuries--she also missed the Redbirds' last game with foot problems--while Kutschinski was limited to two years because of back problems.
A year ago on Senior Day, ISU got off to a rocky start against Wichita State, then rallied, but still lost. Spotting teams early leads and having to recover has been a recurring theme for the 2004-05 team as well. Pingeton hopes her team will start stronger against Bradley.
"Certainly, there's a time for all the emotions to come out after the game," said Pingeton, whose Redbirds are 8-15, 5-8 in the Missouri Valley Conference. "Last year, I think we got caught up in it (Senior Day) early in the game, and we couldn't overcome that."
Illinois State spotted the Shockers a 21-point lead in last year's home finale. Senior Zora Skrabalova led a furious comeback to tie the score, but Wichita State recovered.
Like the Redbirds, Bradley also has a large senior contingent trying to finish the regular season strong. The Braves, 13-9, 6-7 in the Valley, have dropped five of their last seven after a 4-2 league start. Dena Williams, one of those Bradley seniors, lead the team with 14.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
Bradley coach Paula Buscher, a former Illinois State assistant, thinks the ISU-Bradley rivalry is one of the league's best.
"It's a rivalry the fans enjoy and I think it gets the players fired-up, too," said Buscher. "Their fans come to our place (Robertson Field House) and we get a good group of ours at Redbird Arena."
