Dec. 20, 2006
Box Score
AMES, Iowa - Illinois State's women's basketball team erased a 13-point second-half deficit to regain the lead with less than eight minutes remaining in the game, but host Iowa State used a 15-6 run in the final seven minutes to defeat the upstart Redbirds, 74-67, in front of 6,243 fans at Hilton Coliseum Wednesday night.
The loss ends a five-game winning streak for the Redbirds, and moves their season record to 7-3. Iowa State, ranked 30th in the Jeff Sagarin Women's College Basketball ratings (RPI), wins its sixth straight overall and improves to 9-1 on the season.
Illinois State put three players in double figures, led by Kristi Cirone and former Iowa State guard Megan McCracken's 11 points each. Senior center Lori Trumblee chipped in 10 points off the bench for the Redbirds, while junior guard Tiffany Hudson connected on three three-point field goals in the second-half comeback, and finished with nine points. Iowa State was led by All-American candidate Lyndsey Medders' 18 points.
Trailing by just four at halftime, the Redbirds fell behind by 13 points with 16:29 left in the second half before going on a 23-8 run to take a 61-59 lead with under eight minutes remaining. But Iowa State connected on four of its last six shots down the stretch to claim the come-from-behind win.
Head coach Robin Pingeton, making her return to Iowa State where she assisted for three seasons, was proud of how her team battled against a talented team in their own gym.
"You have to give credit to Iowa State," said Pingeton. "They are a great team, and this was a great environment. But I'm really proud of our kids. When we got down 13, we could have thrown in the towel, or keep fighting. We kept fighting, and had some great performances out of some of our bench players. We have a very good ball club, and we showed tonight that we can play against teams of this caliber.
"I think we are really close to being a great team, but we still have some things to shore up. We'll have another opportunity to learn more about our team in two nights."
Both teams traded baskets for the first two and a half minutes before Medders' third field goal of the game gave the Cyclones an early 9-4 lead. McCracken broke a two minute Illinois State scoring drought with a three-pointer to pull the Redbirds within two, 9-7, at the game's first media timeout.
The `Birds answered with a 9-2 run out of the timeout, and claimed a 16-11 lead. Kenyatta Shelton had two field goals in the paint, and McCracken connected on her second trey during the stretch. Medders' third three-pointer of the game pulled the Cyclones back within two, 16-14, with 12:00 remaining in the half. Iowa State strung together a 10-3 spurt over the ensuing four and a half minutes to claim a five-point edge, 24-19, and force Illinois State into its first timeout with 7:36 left.
The `Birds eventually cut the lead to one point (28-27) three minutes later, but the Cyclones responded with a 9-3 run to take a 37-30 lead, their largest of the half. Illinois State ended the half on a 4-1 run, and went to the locker room trailing by just four, 38-34. Eight Redbirds scored in the half, led by Shelton's seven points. The Cyclones were paced by Medders' 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Iowa State went on a quick 7-0 spurt over the first two minutes of the second half, jumping out to their largest lead, 45-34, and forced Pingeton into her first timeout of the half. Tocarra Ross led the Cyclone charge with two field goals in the stretch. Iowa State's advantage ballooned to 51-38 in the ensuing six-plus minutes, but after a 7-2 Redbird surge, the lead was trimmed to 53-46 with 11:22 remaining at the half's second media timeout.
The next five and a half minutes were dominated by Illinois State, as the Redbirds strung together a 15-6 spurt to take its only lead of the second half (61-59) with 7:25 left. Hudson had two three-pointers in the surge, while Trumblee connected on two 12-foot jump shots from the corner. Sara Stevenson also contributed a trey off the bench.
Following a media timeout, the Cyclones answered with a 7-3 run to reclaim a five-point lead, 66-61. Hudson's third three of the game cut the Cyclone lead to 66-64, but the Redbirds went scoreless for the ensuing 2:40 before a Cirone three brought them back within four, 71-67. Illinois State was held scoreless for the remainder of the game, and the Cyclones hit three of four free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the victory.
The Redbirds will take a charter flight to Green Bay, Wis. Thursday morning in preparation for Friday's 6 p.m. game against host Wisconsin-Green Bay.
