Nov. 11, 2007
Final Stats |
Notes
CHARLESTON, Ill. -
For the third time in the Robin Pingeton era, the Illinois State women's basketball team posted a victory in its season opener. Kristi Cirone, the 2007 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, led three Redbirds in double figures and notched a game-high 23 points to lead ISU to an 81-68 nonconference win over Eastern Illinois at Lantz Arena Sunday.
The Redbirds (1-0) used an 18-6 run to start the second half to overcome Eastern Illinois' (0-2) hot first-half shooting (61.9 percent). Leading 41-38 at the intermission, the Redbirds missed their first three field goal attempts in the second half. However, ISU quickly got the hot hand by rattling off an 18-6 run, including six points by Cirone and five more from Tiffany Hudson, to take a 59-44 advantage at the 13:40 mark. Hudson finished the game tying her career-high with 18 points.
"I thought this was a great win for our kids on the road in a season opener," Pingeton said. "I didn't think our defensive intensity was where we wanted it to be in the first half, but we came out and played harder in the second half. We forced them to rush shots, and defense is not always about getting steals, it includes forcing them into bad shots."
ISU maintained its lead and claimed its largest margin of the contest on a Nicolle Lewis basket at 9:43, for a 68-52 lead. EIU used a 6-0 run and a Redbird scoring drought, which included four turnovers, to close the lead to 70-61, with 6:02 on the clock.
Again, the Redbirds answered with a 9-2 run to match their largest lead at 79-63, with less than three minutes remaining. ISU converted 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal the win. In addition to the second half runs, Illinois State used 18 offensive rebounds to post the win, which resulted in 20 second-chance points.
"Our defense just picked up (in the second half) and wasn't as intense as it needed to be in the first half," Cirone said. "Defense is our team's focus this year, and I know it is mine personally."
Joining Cirone, who added a game-high eight assists, and Hudson in double-figure scoring was Sha'la Jackson with 10 points, in her first collegiate game. Illinois State returns to action Thursday, when the Redbirds host Wisconsin-Green Bay at 7:05 p.m.
