March 5, 2011
Box Score l 2011 State Farm MVC Tournament Bracket
Post-Game Interview
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Illinois State (20-9, 12-6 MVC) lost the final game of the regular season at Northern Iowa (24-5, 17-1 MVC), 72-54, Saturday afternoon. Kenyatta Shelton and Emily Hanley both scored in double-figures for the Redbirds.
Despite the loss, Illinois State finished the regular season tied for second place in the Valley with Creighton and Missouri State. The Redbirds hold the tiebreaker over both schools, by virtue of a win over Northern Iowa, and will be the No. 2 seed in the State Farm MVC Tournament. ISU will face the winner of the first round game between No. 7 Indiana State and No. 10 Southern Illinois in the quarterfinals Friday at 6:05 p.m.
Shelton had a team-high 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Hanley added 10 points, six rebounds and four steals. Shala Jackson had nine points and four rebounds off the bench. Illinois State made just as many field goals as UNI (18) and had a better field goal percentage (40.9), but was hampered by 22 turnovers.
"We didn't give the kind of effort I would have liked to see in the last game of the regular season," said head coach Stephanie Glance. "Anytime you allow layups and free throws, you are going to be in trouble and that is how Northern Iowa scored most of its points. There were too many turnovers and our defense shut down at the beginning of the second half. Now we need to regroup and focus on the conference tournament this week."
Northern Iowa, the best free throw shooting team in the Valley, made 32 free throws in the game; the most by an ISU opponent since Green Bay made 31 in on Dec. 22, 2006. The Panthers also capitalized on Illinois State's turnovers with 26 points.
Scores on three-straight possessions gave ISU a seven-point lead, but UNI answered with a three-pointer followed by a fastbreak layup off a steal to tie the score, 9-9, six minutes into the game. Two Hanley scores kept ISU ahead, but UNI used a 9-2 run, capped by an Erin Brocka three-pointer, to take the lead for the first time midway through the half, 18-15.
That three-pointer would be the last field goal of the half for the Panthers, who missed 11-straight shots in the last nine minutes. Despite shooting just 7-for-30 in the half, UNI's free throw shooting made the difference. The Panthers shot 12-for-14 from the free throw line, with their final 10 points coming off free throws, and lead 28-25 at halftime.
Illinois State was 11-for-23 from the field and had a 22-15 rebounding advantage in the first half, but turned the ball over 12 times. Hanley scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting and Marley Hall scored six, making all three of her shots.
When the second half began, the shooting woes quickly came to an end as the Panthers made their first four shots to pull ahead, 38-27, at the 17:35 mark. UNI added 10 free throws and a three-pointer over the next four minutes to stretch the lead to 51-35.
K.K. Armstrong scored seven points during a 13-0 run that gave UNI its biggest lead of the game, 64-37, with 8:39 remaining. ISU was held without a field goal for 5:37, missing six-straight shots and turning the ball over three times.
In the first 12 minutes of the second half, UNI outscored ISU 36-12, making 10 field goals and 14 free throws, and had a 14-5 edge in rebounds. Illinois State shot 4-for-14 and had seven turnovers during that span.
Jackson scored four points in a 10-0 spurt that cut the deficit down to 70-54 under two minutes.
ISU committed is seventh team foul at the 13:10 mark, putting UNI at the free throw line for every subsequent foul. The Panthers made 11-of-13 free throws from that point.
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