Nov. 29, 2007
Final Stats
NORMAL, Ill. -
Career-best scoring performances by both Ashleen Bracey and Brea Banks catapulted the Illinois State women's basketball team to an 82-51 non-conference victory over Loyola-Chicago Thursday night on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. The win improved ISU's record to 5-1 on the season, the best start by the Redbirds in the Robin Pingeton-era.
Bracey posted her first-career double-double with a career-best 16 points and a season-high 10 boards. Banks surpassed her career-high in the first half, and finished with 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the field.
Pingeton was pleased with the totality of her team's effort.
"We did a good job of maintaining our intensity level for the entire game," said Pingeton. "It was a good win for our team. All of our players got into the game and saw quality minutes, which is always a good thing.
"I thought that there were a lot of positives (Thursday). We did a nice job on the boards with our rebounding. We also played unselfish basketball, and that was fun to watch."
The Redbirds led from the opening basket by Maggie Krick three seconds into the game. Loyola (1-5) was within a point at 8-7, at the 13:50 mark, but ISU used a 14-2 run, including six points by Bracey, to build a 28-13 advantage. The Redbirds pushed the lead to as many as 18 points in the first half and led 38-22 at the break.
To open the second half, the Redbirds used a 19-2 run to take a 57-26 advantage at the 13:51 mark. The first seven ISU points were scored by Krick, who finished the game with 14 points, including a 2-for-3 night on three-pointers. The Ramblers cut the lead to 23 points at the 11:55 mark, but another 8-0 run by the Redbirds pushed the lead back to 67-36, with 10:03 on the clock.
ISU's top season scorer Kristi Cirone was held to just five points, on 1-for-8 shooting, but she elevated the play of her teammates with a season-best 11 assists. Freshman Amanda Clifton came off the bench to add career-highs in points (6) and assists (3). Illinois State improved to 5-0 all-time against Loyola-Chicago, and the 31-point margin of victory was the highest in the series since the 108-42 win March 2, 1978.
Loyola's Jessica Hylton and Elyse VanBogaert were the only Ramblers in double-figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Illinois State returns to action Sunday when the Redbirds travel to Eastern Michigan for the first of three-straight games on the road against Mid-American Conference teams. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.
