Illinois State-Northern Illinois Game Notes in PDF Format
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Nov. 10, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State women's basketball team will officially enter the 2006-07 campaign when they travel to DeKalb, Ill., to take on in-state rival Northern Illinois in the season-opener for both teams. Tip-off from the Convocation Center is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. Saturday.
Illinois State head coach Robin Pingeton has been pleased with her team's progression through three weeks of practice and two exhibition games.
"We were very pleased with the improvements we saw from the first exhibition game to the second one," said Pingeton. "We still have a lot of work to do, but there are a lot of positives to build off of as we enter the regular season. I've been really pleased with our team's mindset and the work ethic that our players continue to bring to practice every day. There is a sense of urgency on our team. Our players understand that we have a chance to do some special things this year, but they also understand that it is a journey. That journey begins this weekend."
Illinois State swept through the exhibition portion of its season with two wins over Odyssey (Nov. 4) and Northwest Missouri State (Nov. 7). The Redbirds won those two games by an average of 29 points-per-outing.
Northern Illinois is coming off a 12-17 (7-9 Mid-American Conference) campaign last season. However, the Huskies return their top five scorers, including guard Stephanie Raymond (16.4 ppg), a preseason All-MAC selection.
"NIU has a lot of kids on their roster from the state of Illinois, and particularly the Chicago metropolitan area," Pingeton said. "So just from the proximity of the game, it becomes a rivalry. I anticipate they will play a little bit of man (defense), but probably a lot more zone. But particularly this early in the season, we try to concentrate on us as a team. We will do scouting reports and try to give our players tendencies, but we want to make sure we are executing our own game plan."
Illinois State will play its first four games on the road. The `Birds travel to Loyola Chicago next Tuesday (Nov. 14), and will compete in next weekend's DePaul Invitational (Nov. 17-18).
