March 25, 2009
| MARQUETTE (17-15) at ILLINOIS STATE (25-7) |
| Date |
Thursday, March 26 |
| Game Time |
7:05 p.m. |
| Location |
Normal, Ill. (Redbird Arena)
|
| Radio |
WJBC
(R.C. McBride - Play-by-Play | Jill Hutchison - color commentary) |
Live Video |
Redbird All Access (FREE) |
| Live Stats |
GoRedbirds.com |
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Kristi Cirone - G
Jackie Stiles MVC Player of the Year. First Team All-Valley. Valley All-Defensive Team. Valley Scholar-Athlete. Cirone racked up all of these honors for the third-consecutive year, solidifying her place as one of the greatest players in MVC history. Cirone became just the second player to win three-straight MVC Player of the Year awards and the sixth to be named All-Valley four-straight years. She also won her first conference scoring title. Cirone scored 22 points in the second round of the WNIT against Louisiana Tech to move into third place in career scoring in the Valley.
ANGEL ROBINSON - G
Robinson leads Marquette in scoring (13.9 ppg) and assists (119). An second-team All-BIG EAST selection, she has scored in double-figures in 22 games this season, including a pair of 30-point performances. During Marquette’s WNIT title run last season, Robinson averaged 16.2 points over the five games.
FASTBREAK POINTS
Illinois State beat Louisiana Tech, 73-59, in the second round of the WNIT Tuesday … ISU beat La Tech for the first time ever (1-5) … Illinois State has a chance to win two postseason games in the same year for just the second time in school history (1980) … Marquette is making its making its sixth appearance in the WNIT … Marquette is the defending WNIT champion.
ISU IN THE POSTSEASON WNIT
Illinois State is making its eighth appearance in the WNIT (1980, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1996, 2007) and has an 8-12 all-time record in the tournament. ISU’s last appearance came in 2007, when Redbirds beat Rice at home in triple overtime, 71-61, before losing at South Dakota State two days later, 61-48. The 2007 tournament was the first ISU participated in that was held at host sites. The previous six were all played in Amarillo, Texas.
REDBIRDS-GOLDEN EAGLES SERIES
Illinois State and Marquette have each won a game in the all-time series between the two schools. The Redbirds and Golden Eagles played a home-and-home series from 1992-93 with each team winning on its home court. ISU won the series-opener, 94-68, Dec. 11, 1993. Marquette then won the last meeting, 77-66, Dec. 29. ISU is 17-13 all-time against teams currently in the BIG EAST. The Redbirds’ last win over a BIG EAST opponent came over South Florida in the Best Western Roundball Classic, 82-57, Nov. 18, 2007.
SCOUTING THE WNIT FIELD
Illinois State has faced 21 teams in the 2009 WNIT, posting a 57-64 all-time record. Valley-foe Creighton (14-25), Indiana (9-11) and Wisconsin (9-5) are the three teams that ISU is most familiar with. Illinois State, Indiana and UC-Riverside participated in both the Preseason and Postseason WNIT. Marquette is the defending WNIT champion.
THREE-PEAT
Illinois State’s WNIT berth this season marks the third-consecutive year the Redbirds have advanced to postseason play. It is the third time ISU has been in the postseason at least three-straight seasons. ISU made three postseason trips from 1988-90 and six-consecutive from 1980-85.
ANOTHER THREE-PEAT
Illinois State has completed another rare three-peat this season. The Redbirds won 20 games for the third-straight season for the third time in program history. The Redbirds won 20 games from 1982-85 and 1987-90. ISU has also completed back-to-back 25-win seasons for the first time in program history.
HOME, SWEET HOME
Redbird Arena has become one of the toughest places to play in the nation this year. ISU is 12-1 at home this season, winning 11 of the games by double-digits. ISU is averaging 75.7 points per game at home and allowing just 58.9. The Redbirds shoot 45.0 percent from the field and average 42.7 rebounds per game, while holding their opponents to 35.4 percent shooting and 34.8 rebounds per game. ISU won 11-straight home games to start the year, the second-longest winning streak and second-best home start in school history.
A HISTORIC SEASON FOR PINGETON
Aside from all of the team success, ISU head coach Robin Pingeton has achieved numerous personal milestones this season. ISU’s 73-59 win over La Tech in the WNIT was the 114th of her career at ISU, moving her past Melinda Fischer for second all-time. Pingeton earned the 100th win ay ISU in the 61-51 triumph over Drake Jan. 3, becoming the third ISU women’s basketball coach and 13th Valley coach to achieve that feat. Pingeton earned her 300th-career victory as a head coach against Northern Iowa Feb. 1. She is 114-72 (.613) at Illinois State.
THREE TIMES 1,000
Junior Maggie Krick (1,026) and redshirt junior Nicolle Lewis (1,006) both joined the ISU 1,000-Point Club in the last two games, bringing the membership up to 24. There have been five years in Illinois State history when two players have scored their 1,000th point in the same season. Krick and Lewis join with all-time leading scorer Kristi Cirone (2,082) to form the third trio of 1,000-point scorers on the same team. Char Govan, Cindy Kaufmann and LuAnn Robinson all reached the 1,000-point plateau in the 1989-90 season and Jenny Schmidt, Val Trame and Corrine Vossel each had at least 1,000 points in 1997-98.
