NORMAL, Ill. -
December 15, 2011
After a 10-day break for finals, the Illinois State women’s basketball team is ready to get back on the hardwood, as the Redbirds host in-state rival No. 23/21 DePaul Monday, Dec. 19, on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m.
Sophomore forward Marley Hall led the Illinois State women’s basketball team (5-4) in the Redbirds’ 71-45 win over Western Kentucky (Dec. 9). In the game, Hall just missed another double-double performance with 18 points and nine rebounds in 27 minutes of play.
Candace Sykes also had a strong performance in the ISU win, leading all scorers with 19 points and grabbed four steals.
The Blue Demons hold a record of 9-2 with a game against Arizona State (Dec. 16) standing between their matchup at Illinois State. DePaul is led by Anna Martin, who is averaging 18.6 points per game in 11 games for the Blue Demons. Martin was 4-of-11 from the field in DePaul’s 78-67 road win over Princeton (Dec. 13), scoring 14 points in 38 minutes of play, while dishing out a team-high six assists. She is shooting 52 percent from the field 53 percent from beyond the arc. Martin leads the Blue Demons in four categories, including points (205), three-point field goal percentage (.529), assists (37) and steals (23).
Monday’s game marks the 12th meeting between Illinois State and DePaul. The Blue Demons hold a 8-3 advantage in the overall series and a 3-1 advantage of game played in Redbird Arena. The last time the two teams met was last season, Dec. 1, 2010, when DePaul defeated ISU, 100-83, in Chicago. This is the sixth-straight year the two schools have met on the hardwood.
ABOUT DEPAUL
• DePaul is located in Chicago, Ill., and has an enrollment of 25,145. The Blue Demons are members of the Big EAST Conference.
• The Blue Demons finished 29-7 last season and tied for second in the Big EAST.
• DePaul returns three starters from the 2010-11 season, when the Blue Demons finished the season with No. 10 final ranking and were a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament in the Philadelphia regional.
SIMILIAR OPPONENTS
The Redbirds and the Blue Demons will face four similar opponents during the 2011-12 season, including Arizona State, Northern Illinois, Northwestern and Southern Illinois. DePaul defeated Northwestern, 88-72, on Nov. 27, while ISU fell to Northwestern (Nov. 17), 69-62, 10 days earlier. ISU topped Northern Illinois, 81-62 on Nov. 26, but fell to Arizona State in the championship game of the ASU Classic (Dec. 3), 77-54. DePaul faces Arizona State Friday, Dec. 16, and will host Northern Illinois on New Year’s Eve. Neither team has faced Southern Illinois yet. ISU hosts the Salukis to start Valley play (Dec. 30), while DePaul will see Southern Illinois on Dec. 22.
STRONG CAMPAIGNS
The 2010-11 season was a successful season for both Illinois State and DePaul. The Blue Demons were undefeated on their home court, ending the season with a 17-0 record. DePaul finished second in the Big East Conference and earned an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament. At the NCAA tournament, DePaul was a No. 3 seed in the Philadelphia Regional. The Blue Demons’ season ended in the third round of the tournament with a loss to Duke, 70-63. For the Redbirds, they completed the first undefeated home season in school history and set school records for overall home wins (17) and single-season home winning streak (17). They also made their fifth-consecutive postseason appearance and their third-straight trip to the WNIT semifinals. ISU’s undefeated home record and the Redbird season ended with a loss to USC (March 30), 63-36.
HANDLIN’ HALL
Marley Hall had a career-high week and continues to be a dominate force for the Redbirds down low. Hall recorded the third double-double of her career against Illinois (Dec. 7) with 21 points and 11 rebounds in 31 minutes of play. She was 6-of-8 from the field and 9-of-13 from the charity stripe. She set career bests in points, rebounds, free throws made and free throw attempts in ISU’s 66-56 loss to Illinois. Hall also helped keep the Illini’s main scorer, Karisma Penn, to only four points. Two nights later in ISU’s win over Western Kentucky (Dec. 9), 71-45, Hall just missed another double-double, as she finished the game with 18 points and nine rebounds. She also recorded two blocks against WKU. Hall is the second-leading scorer for ISU with 99 points, averaging to 11.0 points per game. The sophomore forward also leads the team in rebounds with 62 boards.
HANDS UP
Illinois State held Western Kentucky to only 45 points in their game on Dec. 9th, the fewest points scored by an ISU opponent during the 2011-12 season. WKU shot just 27 percent from the field and eight percent from beyond the arc. The last time ISU held an opponent to less the 50 points was during the 2008-09 season, when Creighton scored 43 points on Jan. 1.
BALANCED SCORING ATTACK
The Redbirds are scoring 67.9 points per game through nine games and have had a balanced scoring threat during the 2011-12 season. Seven Redbirds have recorded double-digit scoring performances, including Katie Broadway, Marley Hall, Alexis Jenkins, Jamie Russelland Candace Sykes, who have multiple double-digit efforts. Broadway, Hall, Russell and Sykes have each tallied 20-plus point games, and Russell scored 30 points against Eastern Illinois (Nov. 21). In ISU’s win against Arkansas State (Dec. 2) and Western Kentucky (Dec. 9), nine Redbirds scored in the wins, the most ISU players to score in a game this season.
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