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NORMAL, Ill. -
December 8, 2011
The Illinois State women’s basketball team is back in action at Redbird Arena, Friday, Dec. 9 to host Western Kentucky at 7:05 p.m. The game can be seen in the Bloomington-Normal area on Comcast channel 74 and on ESPN3 and ESPN Full Court.
Marley Hall led the Illinois State women’s basketball team Wednesday in the Redbirds’ 66-56 loss to Illinois. In the game, Hall recorded the third double-double of her career, while setting career highs with 21 points and 11 rebounds in 31 minutes. Through eight games, Hall is shooting 57 percent from the field and 66 percent from the free throw line. She leads the team in rebounds with 53, averaging to 6.6 rebounds a game, and is also the third-leading scorer on the team with 81 points.
Western Kentucky (2-7), enters Friday’s game, after falling to Tennessee Tech, 69-59 (Dec. 7). Western Kentucky is led by LaTeira Owens, who is averaging 11.4 points per game in nine games for the Hilltoppers. Owens was 7-of-10 from the field in WKU’s 69-59 loss to Tennessee Tech, scoring 16 points in 21 minutes of play.
Tonight’s game marks the fifth meeting between Illinois State and Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers lead the all-time series, 3-1, over the Redbirds. The last time the two teams met was during the 1989-90 season, when the Redbirds won, 99-83, in Normal, Ill., on Nov. 28, 1989. In games played at ISU, the teams are tied, 1-1.
ABOUT Western Kentucky
• Western Kentucky is located in Bowling Green, Ky., and has an enrollment of 20,885. WKU is a member of the Sun Belt Conference.
• The Hilltoppers finished 15-17 last season and were second in the Sun Belt.
• Western Kentucky returns three starters, including LaTeira Owens, who leads the team in scoring with 11.4 points per game.
Seeing Double
Marley Hall recorded her third-career double-double in the game against Illinois (Dec. 7), but her efforts weren’t enough, as ISU fell, 66-56. She had a career-high performance in rebounds with 11 and points with 21. Her first two double-doubles came against Eastern Illinois (Nov. 21) and Northern Illinois (Nov. 26). Also in the game against Illinois, the sophomore forward set a career-high in free throws made and free throws attempted, going 9-of-13 from the charity stripe.
Zoning In
Entering Wednesday’s game against Illinois, the Illini’s Karisma Penn was averaging 16.1 points per game, but the Redbirds had a solid game plan in place and limited the Fighting Illini leader to four points, her lowest scoring performance this season. ISU ran a zone defense to keep the ball away from Penn, who sat most of the game after getting into foul trouble, allowing Marley Hall to have career-high scoring and rebounding performances.
Taking Care of the Ball
Illinois scored 23 points off of Illinois States’ 17 turnovers, proving to be the main factor in ISU’s 66-56 loss to Illinois Wednesday (Dec. 7) on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena, as ISU outshoot the Illini 43 percent to 41 percent. The 23 points were the second most points ISU opponents have scored off of Redbird turnovers. In the 83-69 loss to Eastern Illinois (Nov. 21), the Panthers scored 26 points off of 19 Redbird turnovers.
BALANCED SCORING ATTACK
The Redbirds are scoring 67.5 points per game through eight 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 Russell and 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, nine Redbirds scored in the victory, the most ISU players to score in a game this season.
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