Feb. 15, 2008
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -
Illinois State leads Indiana State, 39-28, at halftime of the Missouri Valley Conference Game of the Week at the Hulman Center on Friday night. The Redbirds led by 20 at one point in the half, but Indiana State overcame some early shooting struggles to cut the deficit down to single-digits. Sophomore guard Maggie Krick leads the 'Birds with 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including two three-pointers, and sophomore center Nicolle Lewis and freshman guard Shala Jackson each have eight points. Lewis also tied her season-high with four blocks and became the second player in ISU history to amass 100 career blocks.
The two teams missed their first 11 shots combined to start the game. Lewis had three blocked shots in the first four minutes of the game, with her 100th-career rejection coming on a layup by Sycamore forward Maria Olsthoorn at the 16:55 mark. After a pair of free throws by Jackson, the Redbirds tallied the game's first field goal when Cirone through a floor-length pass to a streaking Krick for a fastbreak layup. Indiana State got on the scoreboard on its next possession with a three-pointer by guard Angela Phillips.
The Redbirds began to find their touch from the field and went on a 14-3 run over a five-minute stretch to take a double-digit lead, 18-6. Lewis scored six points during the stretch and the Redbirds held the Sycamores to just one field goal on 10 attempts.
Krick made three-points on back-to-back possessions, one from the right wing and one from the left wing, and Jackson converted a traditional three-point play with a layup and a free throw to extend the Redbird lead to 27-10 with just under eight minutes remaining in the half.
A free throw by junior guard Kristi Cirone gave ISU its first 20-point advantage, 32-12, but Indiana State managed to put together its first run of the game after that. The Sycamores scored 11 unanswered points to cut the deficit down to single-digits, 32-23, at the 3:27 mark. The Sycamores outscored the Redbirds 17-6 over the final five minutes of the period and went into halftime down by nine, 38-29.
