Nov. 18, 2010
Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State ran its home-opener winning streak to eight games with an 84-53 win over Eastern Illinois Thursday night in Redbird Arena.
In the 31-point victory over the Panthers, six Redbirds recorded nine points and 12 ISU players scored overall. Candace Sykes came off the bench and led the Redbirds in scoring with 14 points. Hannah Spanich and Katie Broadway recorded 10 points each, with Shala Jackson, Emily Hanley and Alexis Jenkins adding nine points each.
The Redbirds shot 41 percent, making 30-of-73 field goals and connected on 7-of-20 three-point attempts. Illinois State controlled the Panthers with 16 steals to EIU's nine.
After missing their first nine shots, the Redbirds got their offense going with back-to-back three pointers from Spanich and Broadway. A three-point play from Spanich and a Jackson layup gave the Redbirds an 11-2 lead.
After an ISU timeout the Panthers got into foul trouble, sending the `Birds to the line nine times. The Redbirds made six of the free throws and a Jenkins fast-break layup stretched the lead to 16-9.
Kenyata Shelton made a jumper before the final official's timeout in the half, putting the Redbirds up by over 20 points for the first time in the game, 34-13 with 3:17 left in the first half. Illinois State closed the first half on a 14-6 run to take a 40-17 lead and held the Panthers to just one field goal in the last seven minutes. After shooting 0-for-9 in the beginning of the first half, the `Birds turned around and shot 15-for-28 in the remainder of the half.
The last time an opponent scored less than 20 points in a half against the Redbirds was Indiana State during the 2009-10 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, when the Sycamores were limited to 14 points.
Both teams came out firing in the second half, with the Redbirds making three-straight three pointers to give Illinois State its first 30-point lead in the game. At the 10:32 minute mark in the second half, Marley Hall made a layup for her first career score as a Redbird, giving Illinois State a 34-point lead, its largest lead of the season.
Illinois State continues its homestand Saturday against SIU Edwardsville at 4:05 p.m.
