Feb. 27, 2006
ST. LOUIS, Mo. -
For the fourth time this season, Illinois State freshman guard Kristi Cirone is the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week. Cirone's 35 points, nine assists and four steals helped Illinois State to a weekend home sweep of Drake and Creighton, putting the Redbirds in contention for a possible top six seed in the upcoming State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
In the 15 weeks the award has been announced this season, Cirone has won it four times--no other newcomer more than twice. She also was the first player in Valley history to be the Newcomer of the Week and Player of the Week when she won both in December.
Cirone, the only true freshman in the nation leading her team in scoring and assists, shot 53 percent from the field, 63 percent from three-point range and 83 percent from the free throw line while leading Illinois State to a 64-61 win over Drake and a 74-61 win over Creighton.
Against Drake, she scored all of her 17 points in the first half, but added four assists, three steals and two rebounds as the `Birds beat the Bulldogs despite Jill Martin's 17 points and eight rebounds. Martin, who had a stellar performance in Drake's Sunday win at Indiana State, is the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week.
In the Creighton game, Cirone hit three three-pointers for half of her 18 points and added five assists to help the `Birds sweep the season series from the Bluejays for the first time.
Every time Cirone makes a three-pointer or a free throw, she breaks her own Redbird freshman records. Her 47 three-pointers are 19 more than the previous record of 28 by Jenny Schmidt in 1995-96. Her 104 free throws made not only are 20 more than any freshman in Redbird history, but they are tied for No. 5 in Redbird single-season history. She is bidding to be the first Redbird player to be Valley Freshman of the Year since Redbird point guard Tami Baalke won the award in 1989-90.
For Cirone and her teammates, the next game is at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday against Evansville in Roberts Stadium. They finish the regular season Saturday at Southern Illinois.
