In the wake of Illinois States back-to-back blowout victories--81-44 over Southern Illinois and 85-60 over Drake--Drake coach Amy Stephens gave a cautionary quote to a group of assembled media.
Illinois State has beaten two teams in the lower half of the standings, said Stephens. Now, lets see how they do against teams in the upper half.
Stephens, the rest of the league and Redbird fans wont have to wait long. The Redbirds, 7-12 overall, 4-6 in the Valley, play their next two games are against Missouri Valley Conference co-leaders Creighton and SMS. The Bluejays (13-5, 8-2 in the Valley) come to Redbird Arena for a 2:05 p.m. tipoff Sunday.
The Birds have gone to work early and often in those two wins. SIU trailed 40-13 at halftime, while the Bulldogs were down 48-28 at after 28 minutesan incredible turnaround for a Redbird team that scored just 47 points in 40 minutes in a 68-47 loss at Drake four weeks earlier.
Seniors Jaci McCormack and Katie Donovan, along with sophomore
Megan McCracken, have been at the heart of an offense shooting 56 percent from the field and 49 percent from three-point range on the current two-game win streak. They have combined for 62.5 points, 14 rebounds, 12.5 assists and 6.5 steals. In addition, just about every time Redbird coach Robin Pingeton goes to the bench, she has gotten productivity.
McCormack believes the whole is becoming more than the sum of the parts.
Were playing great team ball, said McCormack, who has hit 12 of 18 field goals including 8 of 10 three-pointers in those back-to-back wins. Everybody is contributing.
ISU has held its last two opponents to 34 percent from the field, 24 percent from the three-point line. In those two games, the Birds have a 9.5 per game rebounding edge and have scored 44 of their 166 points off opponent turnovers.
Fan support is picking up momentum, too. The 2,681 on hand for Fridays win over Drake give the 2004-05 Redbirds four of the top eight crowds in the programs history. ISU is No. 2 among the states 11 Division I womens basketball programs in home attendance.
The crowd will greet a Creighton team which pulled-out a 79-78 overtime victory over Illinois State back on Jan. 8 in Omaha.
The Jays get two-thirds of their scoring and half their rebounds from a trio of impact players: perimeter stars Laura Spanheimer and Kristi Woodard, plus inside player Angie Janis. The defending Womens National Invitation Tournament Champions are 7-1 in games decided by five points or less, with that only loss coming in a 79-76 decision Friday at Indiana State.
Creighton coach Jim Flanery finds it difficult to put Spanheimers value into words. The senior guard averages 17.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.5 steals per game and finds a way to be a difference-maker at the end of those cliffhangers.
I just tell our younger players you want to learn how to play this game, watch Laura, said Flanery.
Like Flanerys own players watch Spanheimer, Valley observers have a chance to see how Illinois State matches up with the leagues leaders, and see if the Birds can continue to move up the Valley standings.
