Feb. 24, 2008
Final Stats
NORMAL, Ill. -
Junior Kristi Cirone scored 10 of Illinois State's first 14 points, which elevated her into the No. 10 spot on the all-time career scoring list in Redbird history, and finished with 21 points to lead ISU to a 78-66 victory over Missouri State in Missouri Valley Conference action Sunday on Doug Collins Court in Redbird Arena.
Including today's effort, Cirone has scored 1,335 career points at Illinois State and surpassed former Redbird Marla Maupin on the top-10 list. The fourth-straight ISU victory pushed the Redbirds' season record to 22-3 overall and 12-2 in the conference. The Lady Bears fell to 9-17 on the year and 7-8 in league play.
Cirone led four Redbirds in double-figure scoring, including Maggie Krick (17), Ashleen Bracey (12) and Kenyatta Shelton (11). The Redbirds outscored the Lady Bears 48-14 in the paint, while shooting 56.1 percent from the field.
"I felt like we did a lot of things better in the second half," said head coach Robin Pingeton. "I liked our defensive intensity in the second half, and I felt like we limited their offensive rebounds. We were a lot more aggressive going to the rim, through the post feed and in transition. We knew that they would match us running early, but we felt that as the game went on that we could wear on them a little bit."
With ISU trailing 18-15 at the 11:41 mark in the first half, the Redbirds used a 10-0 run, including six points by Shelton, to build a 25-18 lead. The Redbirds maintained a 28-20 edge with 7:22 left in the half, but Missouri State responded with an 11-0 run, including six points by Tiff Terwelp, to take a 31-28 lead at the 4:01 mark.
ISU ended the half with an 8-0 spurt, to take a 36-31 lead at the intermission. The Redbirds continued to have the hot hand at the start of the second half, by beginning the final 20 minutes with a 7-0 run. During Illinois State's 15-0 run, which spanned over two halves, Missouri State was held scoreless for nearly seven combined minutes.
With the Redbirds leading 48-36 and 14:47 remaining, Missouri State mounted its final comeback attempt and unleashed a 7-0 run to cut the ISU advantage to 48-43, with 12:26 on the clock. The `Birds followed up with a 14-5 spurt, including four points by Ashleen Bracey, to rebuild a 62-48 lead, with 7:50 left.
ISU led by as many as 17 points, at 74-57, and Missouri State was never able to get any closer than 12 points. MSU was led by Terwelp, who poured in a game-high 23 points. Tahnee Balerio added 15 points for the Lady Bears, while Roxy Stiles tossed in 11 tallies.
Illinois State will close out its regular-season Valley road schedule when the Redbirds travel to Creighton Feb. 24, and play at Drake March 2.
