Illinois State-Indiana State Game Notes in PDF Format
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Feb. 16, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State women's basketball team will look to continue its impressive 2006-07 season run at Redbird Arena when it hosts rival Indiana State in a Missouri Valley Conference showdown Sunday. Tip-off its set for 2:05 p.m.
The Redbirds (17-7, 10-3 MVC) are coming off Monday's 75-69 loss at Wichita State, their third setback in the past four Valley games. Sophomore point guard Kristi Cirone recorded her 10th 20-plus scoring outing of the season with 21 points, but the Shockers' Antionette Wells countered with a dominating, 27 point, 17 rebound effort as WSU held off a late ISU rally to post the win. ISU currently sits one-game behind MVC leader Southern Illinois in the league standings.
Wichita State shot 61 percent in the second half of the contest, but the Redbirds still had a chance to tie the game with just 1:07 remaining before Nicolle Lewis' potential game-tying shot circled the rim and missed.
Illinois State head coach Robin Pingeton acknowledged her team's recent struggles, but also added that the Redbirds still have a strong chance at making a run at a Valley championship with five regular season league games remaining.
"Every season is its own unique journey," said Pingeton. "You've got to deal with the bumps along the road, and we have certainly had our fair share of those lately. But it's all about how you respond, and we've got a chance in these last five games to turn our season from a good one into a great one. Our biggest challenge right now is getting our consistency back, especially on the glass. Our rebounding is something we feel like we can control, especially considering our athleticism in the frontcourt. We've got to get back to controlling the glass."
Indiana State (14-10, 7-6 MVC) has won three of its last four Valley contests, including last week's road sweep over Missouri State (Feb. 8) and Wichita State (Feb. 10). The Sycamores lead the league in scoring offense (78.3), scoring margin (+6.2), three-point field goal percentage (.385) and three-point field goals made per game (8.41). They also rank behind only Illinois State in assists per game. In conference play, junior point guard Angela Phillips leads the Valley in assists (5.23 apg), while Cirone ranks second overall with 4.77 assists per MVC outing.
Pingeton has been impressed with the run Indiana State has made in the second half of the conference slate.
"Much like us, Indiana State really likes to get out and run," said Pingeton. "They can really get on a roll when they push the ball and transition and can take some quick three-pointers. I have a tremendous amount of respect for what head coach Jim Wiedie has done with such a young team this year. They have a lot of firepower, and can really put points on the board in a hurry.
"But we have to be concerned with our team. The biggest thing is that we get back to playing our best basketball, and we want to be at that point come March and down the stretch of the regular season."
In the last meeting between the `Birds and Sycamores (Jan. 19), Illinois State improved to 7-0 in the Valley with an 89-81 win at the Hulman Center. Junior center Lashawn Johnson recorded her first career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, leading a group of five Redbirds in double figures. 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 stage 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.
Illinois State owns a slim 36-32 advantage in the all-time series with Indiana State. In what has become one of the most storied rivalries in the Valley, the Redbirds have won five of the last nine meetings.
