Jan. 19, 2007
Box Score
TERRE HAUTE, Ind.- Junior center Lashawn Johnson recorded her first career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead Illinois State's women's basketball team to an 89-81 win over host Indiana State in front of 5,588 at the Hulman Center Friday night. With the win, the Redbirds remain undefeated in Missouri Valley Conference play (7-0), and clinch their best start to the conference slate since the record-setting 1988-89 season. ISU's seven-game winning streak also matches the longest streak under head coach Robin Pingeton.
Johnson led a group of five Redbirds in double figures, as Nicolle Lewis recorded her third consecutive double-digit scoring effort with 17 points, Kristi Cirone tallied 18 points, Megan McCracken had 17 points, and Tiffany Hudson chipped in 11 points off the bench. Indiana State was led by Laura Rudolphi's 18 points.
The Redbirds built as large as a 20-point advantage in the first half, and took a 50-31 lead at halftime after ending the frame on a 6-0 run. They went up by 23 points just one minute into the second stanza before seeing the Sycamores staged a furious comeback and cut the lead to just two points (68-66) with more than five minutes remaining. The `Birds hit eight free throws in the final minute to clinch the victory.
Pingeton was impressed with her team's ability to hold off a talented offensive team on their home court.
"We showed the markings of a very good team tonight. We bent but didn't break in the second half in what was an incredible environment to play in. Indiana State is a very good team, and they made a great run at us. But I was very proud of how our kids responded and showed a lot of poise down the stretch to pick up a big road win."
The Redbirds established their post presence in the opening minutes, jumping out to an 11-6 lead on four field goals in the paint. Lewis converted on two three-point plays in the stretch. Illinois State extended its lead to 14 points (28-14) at the second media timeout (10:33) after completing a 17-8 run. Lori Trumblee and Johnson each chipped in with two field goals in the spurt.
The Redbird run continued over the ensuing four minutes, as they took a 40-20 lead with 6:45 left in the opening period. Hudson capped off the 12-6 run with a three-pointer from the top of the key, her first field goal of the game. The Sycamores cut the lead to 13 points (44-31) with just over two minutes remaining in the stanza, but the `Birds ended the half on a 6-0 spurt, capped off by Cirone's running jumper in the lane with just 2.5 seconds left to push the advantage back to 19, 50-31, heading into the locker room at halftime.
Cirone and McCracken finished the frame in double-digits with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Leah Phillips scored nine points to pace the Indiana State offensive attack. The Redbirds shot 61 percent in the half, and out rebounded the Sycamores, 25-16.
The Sycamores were forced into a timeout just 1:05 into the second half after Johnson and Cirone both tallied field goals in the paint to give the Redbirds their largest lead, 54-31, with 18:55 remaining. But Indiana State answered with a 9-0 surge over the next four minutes, and pulled with 54-40 at the 15:23 mark. Rudolphi had four points in the run for the Sycamores.
Indiana State pulled within single digits (61-53) for the first time since the 13:00 mark of the first half with 9:46 remaining after Laurence Rivest drew a foul and connected on a driving layup in the paint. The Redbird advantage was trimmed to 68-66 with 5:25 left in the second half thanks to back-to-back three pointers by Angela Phillips and Leah Phillips. But Illinois State answered with a 6-2 surge, and claimed a 74-68 lead at the half's final media timeout (3:19).
Hudson and Cirone combined for eight free throws in the final 56 seconds to clinch the win.
The `Birds out-rebounded the Sycamores 45-36, improving to 14-0 this season when they out-rebound their opponent. ISU's 89 points also tied a season-high in conference play.
The Redbirds will travel to Valley rival Northern Iowa next Thursday at 7:05 p.m.
