Redbirds Send Off Seniors, Shoot For Valley Title Sunday

Feb. 28, 2009

 

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Kristi Cirone – G – ILLINOIS STATE
Cirone simply took the game over in ISU’s win over Bradley Thursday night. She scored 34 points (her second-career 30-point performance and one point shy of her career-high) on 12-of-23 shooting, including a 6-for-12 performance from three-point range. Her 12 field goals tied her career-high and the six threes were a career-best and tied for the third-most in ISU single-game history. With the career-best performance, Cirone needs just 14 points to become Illinois State’s all-time leading scorer.

KIM WYPISZYNSKI – F – NORTHERN IOWA
In her first season at Northern Iowa after transferring from UW-Milwaukee last year, Wypiszynski is UNI’s leading scorer (12.2 ppg) and is second in rebounding (5.0 rpg). Her 50.6 field goal percentage ranks her third in the conference, between Redbirds Ashleen Bracey and Nicolle Lewis. She had 13 points, four rebounds and three assists in her first-ever meeting with the Redbirds Feb. 1.

REDBIRDS LOOK TO WRAP UP VALLEY TITLE
With Creighton’s loss at home to Drake Friday night, Illinois State is in position to clinch the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title with a win over Northern Iowa. The Redbirds have a three-game lead over second-place Creighton and have already clinched at least a share of the title. The Redbirds can claim their fourth regular season conference title, their first sole championship since 1989. This would also mark the first time ISU has won consecutive regular season titles after winning a share of last year’s crown.

A WIN TODAY MEANS...
Aside from being the final home game for three Redbird seniors and a possible Valley-clincher, the meeting with Northern Iowa has several other implications. ISU could tie the longest single-season home winning streak and complete the first undefeated home season in school history. The Redbirds would also set a school record with their 24th regular season victory. Head coach Robin Pingeton would tie Melinda Fischer for second place on the ISU all-time wins list with her 133th-career victory.

REDBIRDS-PANTHERS SERIES
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Northern Iowa, 34-21. The two teams met twice in the 1970’s before the creation of the Gateway Conference in 1984 paired them up at least twice every season. After a 70-55 loss in the first-ever meeting, the Redbirds won 22-straight over the Panthers. The 21-consecutive wins as conference members is the third-longest winning streak for one school against another in MVC history. UNI broke the streak with a four-point overtime win in the second meeting of 1994 and then did some work to even the series back up, winning 20 of the last 30 meetings. Since 2000, UNI is 16-5 against ISU. Head coach Robin Pingeton is 9-4 all-time against UNI, including a 1-1 mark in the State Farm MVC Tournament.

LAST TIME OUT VS. NORTHERN IOWA
Illinois State closed out the first half of the Valley season with a 67-55 win over Northern Iowa Feb. 1. The win put ISU in sole-possession of first place in the Valley, a lead it hasn’t relinquished since. Kristi Cirone scored a game-high 18 points and took over the ISU all-time lead in three-pointers. Ashleen Bracey added 14 points and nine rebounds. The Redbirds jumped out to a 23-7 lead midway through the first half and lead, 35-18, at halftime. A scoring drought to start the second half allowed UNI to cut the deficit down to 46-33, but the Redbirds maintained a double-digit lead the entire period.

WE’RE GOING STREAKING!!
To have a winning percentage that ranks in the top-25 in the nation, a team needs to have a considerable winning streak at some point in the year. Illinois State has done that twice this year with winning streaks of 12 and nine games. It is the second time in program history the Redbirds have had two winning streaks of at least nine games in the same season, winning nine- and 13-straight games in 1980-81, and the ‘Birds have had a winning streak of nine games in each of the last three seasons. ISU’s current 12-game winning streak is the fourth-longest and sixth double-digit streak in program history. All 12 wins have come in Valley play, making the streak the second-longest for an ISU team against conference opponents.

HOME, SWEET HOME
When Illinois State is inside Redbird Arena, the Redbirds are almost unstoppable. ISU is 11-0 at home this season, winning 10 of the games by double-digits. ISU is averaging 76.2 points per game at home and allowing just 57.4 for a scoring margin of +18.8. The Redbirds are shooting 45.3 percent and averaging 43.5 rebounds per game, while holding their opponents to 34.8 percent shooting and 34.1 rebounds per game. ISU’s 11-game home winning streak is the second-longest in program history and the Redbirds are off to the second-best home start ever (11-0).

CIRONE APPROACHES ISU SCORING TITLE
It appears to now just be a matter of time. Senior Kristi Cirone is just 14 points from becoming Illinois State’s all-time leading scorer. Cirone has 1,992 points, putting her right behind Cathy Boswell, who has been the Redbirds’ leading scorer with 2,005 points for the last 26 years. Cirone moved into second place with six first-half points against Eastern Illinois Dec. 29 and has averaged 19.8 points over the last 15.5 games. If she does take over the scoring title, she will become just the ninth player to currently hold her school’s record in points and assists.

CIRONE GETS OFFENSIVE
Senior Kristi Cirone’s race for the ISU scoring title was almost inevitable considering her numbers after her first three years at ISU, but she has put up some gaudy numbers this year to almost ensure it. Cirone is 23rd in the nation in scoring (18.9 ppg), 54th in field goal percentage (.506) and 11th in three-point field goal percentage (.438). Cirone has scored in double-figures in 24 games, including 14 games with at least 20 points, and is producing 25.3 percent of ISU’s offense. She eclipsed 20 points in six-straight games earlier this season, which was tied for the longest streak in school history with Cindy Kaufmann, who achieved the feat in 1990-91, and recorded her first 30-point games against Robert Morris (35) and Bradley (34).

LEWIS ON THE BLOCK
Redshirt junior Nicolle Lewis has quietly established herself as one of the best low-post defenders in the Valley and moved her way into second place on the ISU all-time blocks list last year. Lewis has blocked 174 shots in her career, putting her right behind Leslie Ferrell, who holds the ISU record with 177. Lewis has made great strides towards the title this year, averaging 2.4 blocks per game and recording 17 games with at least two rejections, including a season-high six blocks against Indiana State Feb. 7. Her career-high 63 blocks this season are the second-most in the Valley this year and rank second on the ISU single-season list.

DOING WORK FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
Illinois State has done a remarkable job from the free throw line the past three games, shooting 85.5 percent (59-69). The three-game tear improved the Redbirds free throw percentage on the season from 107th (.703) to 59th (.724). Nicolle Lewis is a perfect 17-for-17 during that stretch and has made her last 29-consecutive free throws, dating back to Jan. 22. Maggie Krick shot a career-best 12-for-13 against Evansville and is shooting a blistering 92 percent (23-25) over the last three games. The Redbirds shoot 73.7 percent (331-449) from the free throw line in wins and just 59.6 percent (28-47) in their four losses. ISU has shot better than 70 percent from the charity stripe in 17 games, including the last five.