Feb. 10, 2012
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NORMAL, Ill. -
A strong second-half defensive effort and 24 points from senior guard Katie Broadway led Illinois State (13-9, 8-3 MVC) to an 84-68 win over Northern Iowa (15-8, 8-4) Friday night on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. The win extended the Redbirds' Missouri Valley Conference home winning streak to 22 in a row.
Broadway recorded her second-straight 20-plus point game, thanks to a 5-for-10 from three-point range, to lead a quartet of Redbirds in double figures. Candace Sykes recorded her third double-double performance in four games with 18 points and 14 rebounds and Marley Hall added a double-double of her own with 16 points and 11 boards. Jamie Russell rounded out the double digit Redbird scorers with 17 points and added eight rebounds in the win.
K.K. Armstrong led four Panthers in double-digits with 19 points and seven rebounds and was joined by Rachel Madrigal with 15 points. The Panthers were held to just 31 percent shooting from the field in the second half (9-for-29), as the Redbirds out-rebounded UNI by a 28-17 margin in the final 20 minutes of play.
The two teams traded baskets for the first seven minutes of the game, before UNI jumped out to an eight-point lead at 18-10 at the 12:09 mark of the first half. The Redbirds chipped away at the lead shortly after and went on an 8-1 run to cut the UNI lead to 19-18 two minutes later. Sykes scored four-straight points to start the run and a jumper by Hall and a fast-break layup by Russell cut the UNI lead to one. UNI maintained a one-point lead at 21-20 with just under 10 minutes left to play in the first half, before the Panthers went on a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 28-20 thanks to four points from Katelin Oney. ISU answered with six-straight points of its own, capped off by a pair of baskets by Russell, to cut the Panther lead to 28-26 with 6:37 left in the half.
The Panthers widened their lead back out to four points at 33-29, before the Broadway scored six-straight points to give the Redbirds their first lead since in over 12 minutes at 35-33. Just a minute later, the Panthers took the lead back at 38-37 after another three by Armstrong. However, Alexis Jenkins gave the Redbirds the lead back with a jumper, Broadway added her second three-pointer and Sykes added a pair of free throws to cap off a 7-0 run to close out the half and give ISU a 44-38 lead at the break.
ISU controlled the start the second half, leading by at least five points and as many as 10 when Russell scored on a jumper in the paint to make the score 58-48 with 13:18 left in the game. The Redbirds later extended the lead out to 65-50 with nine minutes left after Broadway connected from three-point range for the fourth time. The Panthers rallied back to within seven points at 73-66 with just over three minutes remaining, but the Redbirds answered with an 11-1 run over the next two minutes and pulled away for an 84-68 victory over the Panthers.
The Redbirds will wrap up their three-game home stand Sunday against Interstate-74 rival Bradley in the team's annual Play 4Kay pink game. Tipoff is set for 2:05 p.m. and fans are encouraged to wear pink to show support for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund's effort to combat cancer. Admission will be just $1 and fans can buy $1 hot dogs, pink lemonade and purchase pink Play 4Kay t-shirts for $20 and shorts for $25.
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