March 29, 2009
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
NORMAL, Ill. - Nicolle Lewis produced her seventh double-double of the season (the 10th of her career) to lead the Illinois State women's basketball team (27-7) past Indiana (21-11), 66-55, Sunday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. Illinois State will now play in the WNIT Semifinals for the first time in program history at a date and time that is still to be determined.
The Redbirds used a blistering season-high 62.5 percent field-goal percentage in the second half to take over a game that was largely a back-and-forth affair for much of the first 30 minutes.
Lewis led Illinois State with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor, along with her 13 rebounds. She was joined in double-figure scoring for Illinois State by Maggie Krick (10 points) and Kristi Cirone (10).
Indiana's Jamie Braun led all scorers with 15 points on 6-of-21 shooting from the field. Jori Davis and Kim Roberson chipped in 14 points apiece, but the Hoosiers struggled throughout the game from the floor, shooting a combined 30.6 percent for the game.
Illinois State took an early 8-2 lead heading into the first media timeout (15:51) following a pair of jumpers from Lewis. Indiana tied the game at 8-8 following a made three-pointer and a pair of free throws at the 15-minute mark. Indiana then went on a 10-2 run to take a 12-8 lead, thanks to a jumper by Whitney Thomas and a layup by Davis.
Illinois State answered with its own 5-0 run to reclaim the lead, 13-12, before Indiana went into the second media timeout (11:40) with a one-point advantage (14-13). Illinois State extended its run to 14-2 off a three-pointer by Krick that gave ISU a 22-14 lead at the 7:12 mark of the first half.
ISU's offensive onslaught came to an end when Indiana's Amber Jackson made a layup near the six-minute mark to cut the Redbird lead to 24-16. The Hoosiers then drained a three-pointer on their next three possessions to cut Illinois State's lead to just one point (24-23).
The game remained close at the start of the second half, with neither side securing more than a three-point advantage near the midway point of the period. After Indiana took a 42-41 lead at the 6:50 mark, Cirone made 2-of-3 free throws and a layup off a pass from Krick to give ISU a three-point advantage at 45-42.
A three-pointer by Indiana seconds later negated the Illinois State lead and retied the game at 45-45. Cirone continued to lay into Indiana's defense, as she single-handedly went on a 6-0 scoring run near the final minutes of the game.
The Redbirds pushed their lead to 54-45 near the four-minute mark before a missed free throw by Kenyatta Shelton on a 1-and-1 opportunity gave the ball back to the Hoosiers. Indiana could only come up with five unanswered points off the turnover, as Illinois State took the 66-55 win and secured its spot in the WNIT Semifinals.
The Redbirds will face the winner of the Kansas/NewMexico quartefinal, which is being played at New Mexico Monday at 8 p.m. CST. ISU will be on the road against either team Wednesday at a time to be detemined.
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