Dec. 6, 2006
Box Score
NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State women's basketball team with stood a furious second-half comeback from Ball State behind sophomore Kristi Cirone's season-high 25 points, 19 in the second half, and senior Megan McCracken's 20 points off the bench as the `Birds defeated the Cardinals 82-72 Wednesday night at Redbird Arena.
Freshman Maggie Krick also stepped up in the win with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, to go along with five assists. Krick also tied for the team lead in rebounds with seven boards along with junior Lashawn Johnson.
The Redbirds built a 21-point lead at the half and were forced to hold on as Ball State shot 54 percent in the second half. BSU would cut the lead to 73-70 with 36 seconds left in the game before Cirone sealed the victory with seven free throws.
The victory, the team's third straight, improves the Redbirds' record 5-2. ISU hands the Cardinals their first loss of the season (5-1), despite the efforts of Julie Demuth, who scored 28 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.
The story for the Redbirds in the first half was the team's defense and the scoring of McCracken and Krick. The `Birds forced nine turnovers, which they converted into 12 points, and held the Ball State offense to 29 percent shooting from the floor. McCracken came off the bench to score a team-high 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including 2-of-3 from behind the arc, and connected on all four free throw attempts. Krick, a native of Washington, Ill., also chipped in with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, 2-for-4 from the three-point line, and had a team-high five rebounds.
The half started out slow for ISU as only freshman Kenyatta Shelton was able to score as ISU fell behind 7-4 with 14:58 left in the half. The Redbirds stepped up their defense as the team found its shooting stroke and went on 16-2 run to take the 20-9 lead at the 8:02 mark. During the run, five different `Birds scored with McCracken and Krick leading the way with five a piece.
The Cardinals would cut the `Birds lead to 22-15 on a lay-up by Lisa Rusche with 6:34 left until halftime, but Ball State would get no closer as ISU finished period on a 20-6 run once again fueled by McCracken's and Krick's seven and five points, respectively. The Redbirds took the 42-21 lead into intermission.
The second half began with the momentum on the side of the Cardinals as BSU opened the half scoring 10 unanswered points in the first two minutes to cut the ISU lead to 42-31. Though the `Birds were able extend their lead back to 13 points at 50-37 on a McCracken jumper with 12:56 left, the Cardinals continued their furious comeback, cutting the deficit down to 54-49 at the 9:06 mark on a Demuth lay-up. The `Birds would push the lead back to double digits at 66-56 on a Cirone jumper with 4:16 remaining in the game before the Cardinals made one last final run behind two three pointers from freshman Audrey McDonald to cut the ISU lead to 73-70 with 36 seconds remaining.
The Redbird women's basketball team will return to Redbird Arena for game two of its three-game homestand on Saturday when it faces Miami (Ohio). Tip-off between the `Birds and the RedHawks is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.
