Dec. 17, 2006
Box Score
NORMAL, Ill. - Freshman forward Kenyatta Shelton collected her fifth double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead Illinois State's women's basketball team to a hard-fought, 68-55 win over preseason Mid-American Conference West Division favorite Eastern Michigan at Redbird Arena Sunday afternoon. The teams battled all game, but the Redbirds went on a 9-0 scoring run to end the game, securing their third consecutive win against a MAC foe, and their fifth straight victory overall.
Illinois State improves to 7-2 on the year, marking just the second time since the 1982-83 campaign that ISU has compiled at least seven wins outside league play. EMU drops to 4-5 overall.
The Redbirds overcame an eight minute second-half scoring drought and 23 turnovers, but they also rebounded their counterparts (49-to-31) for the fifth consecutive game.
Head coach Robin Pingeton acknowledged her team's offensive struggles, but was proud to see them find a way to win when they weren't playing their best.
"Today was an ugly win, but I'm very proud of our kids for hanging tough to grind out a win," said Pingeton. "I don't think we could have done that in the past. We challenged our kids to play to win in the final two minutes, and they did that. It's a huge win for us, because it puts us at 7-2 and continues our success at home this season. But we are really going to have to rally the troops for this upcoming road trip, and we have to play better.
"I was proud of our effort on the boards again. With our size and athleticism, we should be monstrous on the boards. We've done a good job of staying consistent in that area this year, and you saw that again tonight."
The Redbirds jumped out to an early 4-0 lead on back-to-back lay-ups by Shelton and Kristi Cirone. ISU extended the lead to 11-6 until the Eagles went on a 6-0 run and took their only lead of the half at 12-11 on a Sarah VanMetre jump shot. The lead would not last long, however, as a Nicolle Lewis layup snapped the drought and jumpstarted a 13-2 Redbird run that saw the `Birds extend their lead to 24-14 with 9:26 left in the half.
Eastern Michigan would not go away, quickly going on a 12-4 spurt to cut the Redbird lead to 28-26. After baskets from Cirone and Shelton, Ashley Sandstead hit a three-pointer from the left corner to put ISU up 35-28. A trey from VanMetre cut the ISU lead to four points at 35-31, but Megan McCracken answered with a basket of her own from beyond the arc to send ISU into the locker room at halftime with a 38-31 advantage.
ISU came out firing in the second half, jumping out to a 12-2 run thanks to six quick points from Cirone, to make the score 50-33. However, Eastern Michigan answered back, scoring nine unanswered points to cut the ISU lead to eight, 50-42, with 9:54 left in the game. The Redbirds would then get five-straight points from Shelton to widen the lead to 55-44 before an Alyssa Pittman three-pointer brought the Eagles' deficit back to single digits at 55-47.
The Eagles would eventually cut the Redbirds' lead to four points at 59-55 on two made free throws from Kelly Watts with just 2:28 left in the game. However, Krick connected from three-point land to put the `Birds up 62-55 and ISU would score the next six points on free throws to finish the game on a 9-0 run, securing the 68-55 victory.
Cirone and Krick also finished in double figures for the Redbirds as each scored 15 points. VanMetre led all scorers with 22 points and added nine rebounds for the Eagles in the loss, while McKinney finished with 14 points and five boards.
The Redbirds return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Ames, Iowa, to take on the Iowa State Cyclones. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
