Redbirds Host USC in WNIT Semifinals Wednesday

March 29, 2011

For the third-consecutive season, Illinois State is in the WNIT Semifinals and will vie for a spot in the championship against a Pac-10 team for the second-straight year. ISU hosts Southern California Wednesday at 7:05 p.m.

Just like last season, Illinois State has battled to four wins in the WNIT and will host a Pac-10 team in the semifinals. Last year, ISU fell to California, 61-45. The Redbirds are the first team to reach the WNIT semifinals in three-consecutive seasons and hope to be the third Valley team to win a title (Creighton-2004, Missouri State-2005).

The winner of the USC-ISU game will face the winner of the Charlotte-Toledo semifinal Saturday, April 2, at 2 p.m. at a location to be determined.

WATCH WEDNESDAY'S WNIT SEMIFINAL GAME FREE ONLINE
The Illinois State-USC WNIT game will be broadcast on Redbird All-Access live for FREE on Wednesday. Redbird fans can watch all of the action with audio from WJBC live on Redbird All-Access. CLICK HERE TO WATCH.

REDBIRDS BACK IN WNIT SEMIFINALS
Illinois State is making its third-straight trip to the WNIT Semifinals. Since Triple Crown Sports took over administration of the tournament in 1998 and turned it into a single-elimination format, Illinois State is the first team to reach three-consecutive semifinals. Five teams have reached two-consecutive semifinals: Wisconsin (1999-2000), Arkansas (1999-2000), Creighton (2003-04), Kansas State (2006-07), Western Kentucky (2006-07). Illinois State and Wisconsin (1999, 2000, 2007) are the only teams to reach the semifinals three times since 1998.

ISU IN THE POSTSEASON WNIT
Illinois State is making its 10th appearance in the Postseason WNIT (1980, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1996, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011) and has a 18-15 all-time record in the tournament. The Redbirds are in the WNIT for the fourth time in the last five seasons, posting a 12-3 record during that span. ISU is 10-1 all-time in WNIT games in Redbird Arena.

REDBIRDS-TROJANS SERIES
Illinois State and USC have split two all-time meetings. USC won the first meeting in 1982, 92-73, in Los Angeles. ISU beat the Trojans, 76-59, in the first round of the 1988 Ohio State Buckeye Classic. Illinois State is 9-13 all-time against teams currently in the Pac-10, having played every team except Washington and Washington State. Last season, ISU lost to California in the WNIT Semifinals, 61-45.

ABOUT THE TROJANS
Southern California is a private university located in Los Angeles, Calif., with an enrollment of 33,000 student ... the Trojans compete in the Pac-10 Conference ... Michael Cooper is in his second season as USC head coach with a career record of 42-24 ... USC finished tied for fourth in the Pac-10 with a record of 10-8 and lost to Arizona in the Pac-10 Tournament Quarterfinals ... Briana Gilbreath was an All- Pac-10 team selection for the second-straight year and a Pac-10 All-Defensive team pick for the third-straight season ... she was the conference's freshman of the year in 2009 and co-defensive player of the year in 2010 ... USC is making its third appearance in the WNIT as an at-large selection with an all-time record of 6-2 in the tournament.

CRANK UP THE D
The Redbird defense has fueled this season's long run in the WNIT. ISU is holding its WNIT opponents to 58.2 points per game, 33.1 percent (80-242) shooting from the field and 20.8 percent (16-77) shooting from three-point range. Duquesne is the only team to score more than 60 points against the Redbirds in the tournament. Central Michigan came into its game with ISU ranked third in the nation in scoring (81.2 ppg), but the Redbirds held the Chippewas to 59 points, their second-lowest scoring output of the season. Illinois State held Arkansas to a 26.6 field goal percentage, the lowest by a Redbird opponent all season.

HOME SWEET HOME
Illinois State has made Redbird Arena the perfect nest this season with a 17-0 home record, which is tied for the ninth-longest current home winning streak in the nation. The Redbirds completed the first undefeated home season in school history and have set school records for overall home wins (17) and single-season home winning streak (17). In the last four seasons, ISU has an overall home record of 65-12 and a Valley record of 37-8. Dating back to last season, ISU has won 16-consecutive Valley home games.

REDBIRDS TOP ARKANSAS IN WNIT QUARTERFINALS, 60-49
Illinois State's defense led it to a 60-49 win over Arkansas in the WNIT Quarterfinals Sunday. The Redbirds held the Razorbacks to 26 percent shooting and 18 points in the first half. Shala Jackson and Katie Broadway each scored 16 points to lead the Redbirds. Emily Hanley recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Kenyatta Shelton added 11 rebounds. ISU jumped out to a 10-2 lead as Arkansas missed its first six shots. The Redbirds had a 13-5 run to pull ahead by 16 later in the half and a Broadway three gave ISU a 31-18 lead at halftime. Broadway scored five-straight points to give ISU its biggest lead, 52-31, midway through the second half. Arkansas pulled with 11 in the final minute, but was never able to cut the deficit to single-digits.

WNIT NOTABLES
ISU's four postseason wins are tied for the most in school history (2009-10) ...ISU is shooting 74.4 percent on free throws in the WNIT, after shooting 66.1 percent in the regular season ... Katie Broadway, Emily Hanley and Shala Jackson have combined for 67.4 percent of ISU's points, shooting a combined 49.6 percent ... Amanda Clifton is averaging 68 assists and 2.8 steals per game ... Hanley is shooting 64 percent from the field (23-36) , including a 9-for-10 performance against Duquesne ... ISU's 79 points against Duquesne were the fifth-most in a WNIT game in program history and the most in 18 WNIT games ... Kenyatta Shelton's 14 rebounds and four blocks against Central Michigan were both tied for the second-most by a Redbird in a WNIT game ... ISU's eight team blocks against CMU were also tied for the second-most in a WNIT game.

QUEST FOR 25 WINS
Illinois State is one win away from reaching the 25-win plateau for the fourth-consecutive season. The Redbirds have won 25 games in each of the last three seasons, a first in program and Missouri Valley Conference history. Baylor, Bowling Green, Connecticut, Duke, Green Bay, Gonzaga, Marist and Texas A&M are the only teams to win at least 25 games in each of the last four seasons.

FIRST GLANCE
Stephanie Glance came to Illinois State with an impressive pedigree when the program was at an unprecedented level of success. Glance has continued that success, leading the Redbirds back to the WNIT Semifinals, and has made some history of her own. Glance's 24 wins this season are tied for the most by a first-year Valley coach, equaling the mark Jim Flanery set in 2002-03.

BRIGHT LIGHTS OF BROADWAY
Katie Broadway's three-point shooting has been a bit streaky, as she has been relied on to score in other ways, but she has still turned in one of the best long-range shooting seasons in Redbird history. Broadway's 66 three-pointers are tied for the second-most in ISU single-season history, along with Kristi Cirone (08-09) and Jaci McCormack (04-05), and nearly equal her career total of 70 entering this season. Broadway has made at least three three-pointers in 11 games and has knocked down 10 shots from long range in the WNIT. Broadway has shown her offensive versatility as her percentage of points from three-pointers dropped from 66.5 percent in her first two seasons to 47.7 percent this year.