Jan. 12, 2006
Box Score
Cedar Falls, Iowa -
Amber Shelton scored 10 of her 19 points in the first half and Kristi Cirone had all 12 of hers in the second half, but it wasn't enough as Illinois State fell to Northern Iowa 75-69 in a Missouri Valley Conference basketball game Thursday at West Gym.
The Redbirds, 5-8, 0-4, led from late in the first half until the final three minutes when the Panthers out-scored ISU 11-3 in the final three minutes. ISU got 11 points from Tiffany Hudson and 13 from Holly Hallstrom.
Cassie Hager, the nation's No. 2 shot blocker, scored a career-high 27 points to lead Northern Iowa. The 6-foot-7 senior hit 10-of-12 field goals, including one to give the Panthers their first lead in the second half with 1:55 remaining. Tara King followed that with a short bank shot to put UNI ahead 69-66. Traci Ollendieck put the game out of reach with a free throw with 22 seconds left.
Redbird coach Robin Pingeton thought it was one of her team's better efforts of the season, but not in the final three minutes.
"We played hard and we played well," said Pingeton. "It was one of our better games, but we didn't play with poise at the end. We took some quick shots and had some turnovers down the stretch. I felt like we did improve tonight, but we didn't have an answer for Hager inside."
The Panthers, 8-5, 2-2, have won nine in a row against the `Birds in West Gym. The last Redbird win in Cedar Falls was Feb. 22, 1997. It's Illinois State's last scheduled trip to West Gym. The Panthers will move to the 7,000-seat McLeod Center for next season.
UNI got off to a 10-for-15 shooting including three baskets with the shot clock under five seconds, to take a 24-18 lead with 7:51 left. But ISU tightened up its defense and went on a 12-2 run started by a Megan McCracken three-pointer 7:36 before halftime. A conventional bucket-and-one three spot from Amber Shelton to give ISU its first lead 27-26 with 4:43 left in the half. Cat Graham stretched the lead to 30-26 with a three from the left corner at 4:01 left.
Tara King scored the next two baskets for UNI, but a Graham offensive rebound layup, a Tiffany Hudson drive on a fast break and a Graham layup off an in-bounds play gave ISU a 36-33 halftime lead. After a 5-for-16 shooting start, ISU made 10 of its last 15 shots and scored 13 points off the six UNI first-half turnovers and limited the Panthers to just three baskets in their last 17 shots.
Kristi Cirone, who played just four minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, converted a layup-and-free throw and Holly Hallstrom hit a pair of inside shots to help the `Birds stretch the lead to 45-39 in the first four minutes of the second half. UNI closed to 45-43, but Hallstrom hit a jumper and Cirone drained back-to-back three-pointers to put ISU ahead 53-43 with 12:39 left in the game.
ISU led 60-51 with 8:40 left when UNI went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 60-58 with 7:09 left. ISU held the lead until Hager hit two free throws with 4:21 left to tie the score at 64-64. Shelton's short jumper with 2:59 left put the `Birds back on top, but that was the last ISU score until Cirone hit a trey with three seconds left. At that point, UNI still led 73-69.
The Redbirds finish their three-game Valley road swing with a 12:05 p.m. tipoff Sunday at Bradley.
