Nov. 25, 2007
Final Stats
NORMAL, Ill. -
Junior guard Kristi Cirone poured in a game-high 25 points and eclipsed 1,000 points for her career, but Illinois State's women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the 2007-08 campaign, dropping a hard-fought 80-75 decision to No. 18 DePaul inside Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena Sunday afternoon.
With the setback, ISU drops to 4-1 on the season. DePaul improves to 4-0. The Redbirds put three players in double figures, with Tiffany Hudson (13 points) and Maggie Krick (12) joining Cirone. The Blue Demons were led by Allie Quigley and Natasha Williams, who combined to account for 50 percent of DePaul's scoring (40 points).
ISU shot nearly 43 percent (.429) in the contest, while the Blue Demons tallied a 50 percent shooting mark from the field. The Redbirds out-rebounded DePaul, 43-36.
"I have a ton of respect for DePaul and what (head coach) Doug Bruno has done for that program," said Illinois State head coach Robin Pingeton. "But I am proud of our girls, and proud of their effort. We really dug ourselves a hole in the first half, missing some defensive assignments and giving up too many offensive rebounds. But we really fought back, and that is the lesson our kids need to learn from this game. They need to realize how hard we had to fight to come back when we were down 12 points. We need to play 40 minutes of basketball in order to beat a team like DePaul."
The Redbirds came out of the gate on a tear, scoring on their first two possessions to claim a 6-4 lead with less than 18 minutes remaining after Cirone converted her second field goal. DePaul called a timeout and answered with a 7-1 spurt over the ensuing 2:25 to take an 11-7 lead at the first media timeout (15:19).
ISU reclaimed the advantage at the 12:23 mark after Krick scored on a drive to the basket, capping off an 8-3 run. Nicolle Lewis and Shala Jackson also tallied field goals in the spree. ISU stretched its advantage to four, 18-14, after Jackson hit a three-pointer, with 10:15 remaining in the opening stanza. But DePaul responded again, recording a 20-10 run over the ensuing five minutes to take its largest lead of nine (34-25) with 4:37 remaining.
The Redbirds fell behind by 10 points twice in the final 2:15, but Cirone scored ISU's final five points of the half, which included a driving shot as time expired to pull ISU within eight at 41-33 heading into the locker room at halftime. The field goal also gave Cirone 1,000 points for her career; she is the 23rd player in Redbird history to accomplish the feat.
DePaul reclaimed a double-digit (45-35) advantage just over two minutes into the second half, before ISU responded with a 4-0 spurt to pull within four at 45-41, which forced the Blue Demons into their first timeout with 16:12 remaining in the second half. But DePaul quickly responded with an 8-0 spree to take a 53-41 lead with 13:45 remaining. Caprice Smith and Natasha Williams each had two field goals in the stretch.
Both teams traded baskets over the ensuing three-and-a-half minutes, before the Redbirds went on an 8-2 run to pull within 62-60 at the third media timeout of the second half (7:45). Hudson had three field goals in the spurt. The Redbirds tied the game one possession later after Cirone converted her second-consecutive field goal.
DePaul responded with a 7-2 run, after three-straight field goals by Smith, and took a 69-64 lead with 4:50 remaining. The `Birds forced DePaul into a timeout with 4:10 left after Lewis pulled ISU within one possession (69-66). But the Redbirds were held scoreless for nearly the next four minutes, and did not convert another field goal until Hudson hit a three-pointer to pull Illinois State within seven points at 76-69 with 34.2 seconds remaining.
In all, DePaul drained six free throws in the final 46 seconds of the game. But ISU would not go away without a fight, as Cirone hit two three-pointers in the final 13 seconds, helping the Redbirds cut the lead to 79-75 with 8.3 seconds left.
Illinois State will return to action Thursday when it plays host to Loyola-Chicago from Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. Tip off is slated for 7:05 p.m.
