Nov. 26, 2006
Final Stats
NORMAL, Ill. - In her first start of the season, junior co-captain Tiffany Hudson had a career day, scoring 18 points and dishing out nine assists as the Illinois State women's basketball team defeated visiting Chicago State, 81-53, Sunday in the home opener at Redbird Arena.
Hudson's play wasn't the only story for the Redbirds, as four players scored in double figures and the team doubled up the Cougars on the glass, 47-22. Freshman Kenyatta Shelton finished with a season-high 15 points and recorded her third double-double with 10 rebounds. Sophomore Brooke Singleton also set her career high with 11 points, including a three-for-three effort from behind the arc, and senior Sara Stevenson chipped in 10 points off the bench.
Hudson was proud to see her teammates' elevated energy level after their eight-day layover following the loss to No. 19/22 DePaul in the championship game of last weekend's DePaul Invitational.
"We have a very unselfish team, and that is tough to find," said Hudson. "We share the ball well, and have a pretty good inside-out game. We still have to talk a little more out there on the offensive end. But we dug down today, and played with a lot of intensity. We need to continue to have that mentality and play with a lot of energy."
The victory improved the Redbirds' season record to 3-2. The Cougars drop to an even 3-3.
"After the DePaul Tournament, we had a long layoff heading into the Thanksgiving break," Pingeton said. "It's tough to sit on a loss for that long, so I was pleased with how we responded today. We got a little fatigued down the stretch, but overall, I thought we came out and played with a new mindset and were a lot more aggressive on the offensive end. There were still too many turnovers (26), but a lot of that was from us playing a little too fast.
"I thought we really dug in defensively, and this is the best offensive transition game we have played all year. We pushed the ball and were able to get quite a few easy baskets."
The first half began with the two teams trading baskets before sophomore Kristi Cirone and Hudson hit back-to-back treys to give the `Birds the early 13-7 lead with 14:58 left in the first half. The Redbirds hit their stride with 11:54 left in the first half, as they went on a 20-7 run over the next eight-plus minutes to extend their lead to 14 points (35-21). Hudson led the ISU offensive charge during the stretch with eight points, including two three-point baskets. ISU flexed its muscle inside during the run, with buckets coming from junior Lashawn Johnson, who also started her first game of the season, Stevenson and Lori Trumblee.
The Cougars fought back to cut the lead down to eight points with a 10-4 spurt to end the half. Chicago State junior Casey Hadley scored all of her eight points in that span by connecting on two three pointers and a pair of free throws to help the Cougars get within 39-31 at the intermission.
Hudson's stellar play was the story of the first half, as she matched her previous career-high with 14 points. The Naperville, Ill. native connected on five of her six shots, including all three attempts from behind the arc, and dished out a team-high five assists. On the frontline, Hudson got plenty of help as the `Birds out rebounded the Cougars, 22-10. Johnson led ISU as she collected a team-high six boards in the half and chipped in six points. ISU's freshman duo of Shelton and Maggie Krick also helped ISU own the glass by gathering four rebounds a piece.
The second half started out much like first, with both teams scoring back and forth before the `Birds began their final run with 13:19 left in the game. They extended their lead to as many as 25 points down the stretch thanks to Singeton's 11 points, all in the final six minutes, the `Birds finished the game on a 25-11 run.
The Redbird women's basketball team will return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 28, when it hosts in-state rival Eastern Illinois at Redbird Arena. Tip off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
