Dec. 29, 2006
Box Score
NORMAL, Ill. - Sophomore point guard Kristi Cirone poured in a game-high 22 points and dished out five assists to lead Illinois State's women's basketball team to a wire-to-wire, 70-59, win over Creighton in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both teams at Redbird Arena Friday night. Dating back to last season, the Redbirds have defeated Creighton three consecutive times for the first time in program history.
Illinois State broke a two-game losing skid with the win, and improved to 8-4 on the season (1-0 MVC). Creighton drops to 3-9 and 0-1. The only other Redbird in double figures was Megan McCracken, who finished with 12 points. Kenyatta Shelton and Maggie Krick each chipped in eight points. The Bluejays put four players in double figures, led by Chevelle Herring's 13 points.
The Redbirds built as large as a 12-point lead in the first half before seeing the Bluejays answer with a late run to pull within five points at halftime. In the second half, ISU built three double-digit leads, only to see Creighton cut the margin to three points with six minutes remaining. But the Redbirds finished the game on a 9-1 run to post the win.
Head coach Robin Pingeton, who coached her 100th game at ISU in the win, was pleased to see how her team bounced back from a tough loss at Wisconsin-Green Bay on Dec. 22.
"I'm really proud of our kids in how they responded after a tough loss last week at (Wisconsin) Green Bay," said Pingeton. "With a week long layover, you never know how teams will respond. But I liked I liked our energy and intensity. We didn't shoot the ball extremely well, but we did some good things on the defensive end and on the boards. This is a great start to conference play."
Both teams were held scoreless for the first 2:10, but the Redbirds strung together an ensuing 7-1 spurt to take a six-point lead at the first media timeout (15:55). Krick and Tiffany Hudson each had field goals in the run. The Redbirds claimed their first double-digit advantage (21-10) six minutes later after Lashawn Johnson capped off an 8-1 ISU spurt with a transition lay-up. Nicolle Lewis also had five points in the stretch.
Creighton finished the half on a 16-7 run, and pulled within five, 35-30, at the intermission. Chevelle Herring, Sam Schuett, Megan Neuvirth and Ally Thrall all had field goals to jumpstart the Bluejay rally. The Redbirds tallied just two field goals in the final five minutes of the frame. Hudson and Lewis both finished the half with a team-high seven points to lead ISU's offensive output. Creighton was paced by Kristina Voss' nine points on 3-of-4 shooting.
Illinois State went on a 13-9 run over the first five minutes of the second half to open up a 48-39 advantage. McCracken had a long two-point field goal and a trey in the spurt. The Bluejays were forced into a timeout with 12:40 left after two Krick free throws and a McCracken lay-up in transition gave the Redbirds a 53-41 lead.
Herring single handedly kept the Bluejays in the game over the ensuing five minutes, as she scored seven quick points to help trim the Redbird lead to three, 61-58. But she made an early exit, fouling out with 4:00 left after Cirone drew a charge.
The Redbirds took advantage down the stretch, finishing the game on an 8-1 spurt in the final 4:01. Cirone had six of those points, including hitting two consecutive free throws with 2:24 remaining to give the `Birds a commanding nine-point (68-59) lead.
"Kristi really let it all hang out, and left it all on the court," added Pingeton. "Our challenge for her this season has been to get her teammates involved offensively, and she really did that. She got us into our offense quickly, and our transition break was a strength for us tonight."
The Redbirds return to action on Sunday, when they host MVC preseason favorite Drake at Redbird Arena in a New Year's Eve matinee. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.
