Nov. 2, 2009
Redbirds Picked Second In MVC Preseason Poll
Illinois State was projected to finish in second place in the annual Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll, conducted by the leagues coaches, sports information directors and media. Illinois State received 340 votes, falling just behind Creighton (393). The Bluejays (34) and Redbirds (6) were the only teams to receive first-place votes. ISU has been picked in the top-three in the preseason poll in each of the last three seasons. In three of the four previous years the Redbirds were picked second in the preseason poll, the wound up winning the MVC regular-season title.
Krick Named Preseason All-Valley
Senior guard Maggie Krick was named to the Preseason All-Valley team for the second-consecutive year. Krick is ISU's leading returner in scoring, three-point field goals, assists, steals and minutes. She was a Preseason All-Valley pick before last season and was named to the All-Valley Second Team after averaging 12.6 points per game. She was joined on the preseason all-conference team by Megan Neuvirth (Creighton), Jordann Plummer (Drake), Kelsey Luna (Indiana State) and Casey Garrison (Missouri State). Neuvirth was named the Valley Preseason Player of the Year; the first year the award has been given on the women's side. All five players on the preseason team were All-Valley selections last year.
Tonight On 20/20
Illinois State has won 20 games in each of the last three seasons, marking just the second such streak in school history. A 20-win season in 2009-10 would mark the first time ever the Redbirds have won 20 games in four-consecutive seasons. Illinois State has won more games over the past three seasons (75) than any three-year stint in school history.
Bright Lights, Postseason
Illinois State made the deepest postseason run in school history when it advanced to the semifinals of the WNIT last season. It was ISU's third-consecutive trip to the postseason, marking just the third time in school history that has occurred. A postseason trip in 2009-10 would give ISU the second-longest streak in school history, behind the six-consecutive trips from 1980-85.
Non-Conference Slate
Illinois State will be well-prepared for the rigors of the Missouri Valley Conference with a challenging non-conference schedule in 2009-10. The Redbirds will play 11 games during the non-conference slate, facing four teams that played in the NCAA Tournament last season (Ball State, DePaul, Iowa, South Dakota State). Those four teams combined for a 102-33 record last season and Ball State and South Dakota State both won first round games in the tournament.
Chairwomen of the Board
Redshirt senior Nicolle Lewis and senior Ashleen Bracey have come together to form a dynamic duo down low for the Redbirds. Over the past two years, when the two have started alongside one another, they have played a combined 135 games and averaged 6.6 rebounds per game between them. Bracey grabbed 251 rebounds in 2007-08 and Lewis had the same total last season, the 10th-highest single-season total in ISU history.
Queen of the Block
Redshirt senior Nicolle Lewis recorded a school record 78 blocks in 2008-09 and became the school's all-time leader, ending the season with 189. Lewis blocked multiple shots 21 times and was the main catalyst in ISU's school record 152 blocks on the year. She enters 2009-10 ranked fifth in the Valley in career blocks and could become the fourth player in conference history to surpass 200.
Shelton Set To Redshirt
Kenyatta Shelton suffered a torn right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) June 9 and will redshirt the 2009-10 season. She injured her knee during a pick-up game in Redbird Arena and had surgery July 29. Shelton tore her left ACL in June 2007 and missed the first four games of the 2007-08 season.
