Nov. 13, 2013
Final Stats
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. -
Turnovers and a scoreless 10-mintue period in the second half proved to be the differences in the game, as the Illinois State women's basketball team (0-1) fell in its season-opener, 61-48, at Northern Kentucky (2-0) Wednesday night.
Alexis Foley led Illinois State with nine points, shooting 50 percent (4-of-8) from the field. Chloe Nelson added eight, while Stekara Hall, Maddie Oliver and Brianna Puni each scored six points. Octavia Crump brought down seven rebounds, as both Crump and Puni grabbed three offensive boards and Alison Seberger pulled down six rebounds. Illinois State shot 36 percent from the field for the game, while Northern Kentucky shot 40 percent thanks to a 61 percent shooting effort in the second half. ISU outrebounded NKU, 41-24, including 16 offensive boards. The Redbirds had 28 turnovers in the contest.
Nelson connected on a jumper and a layup in transition, taking ISU on a 4-0 run and its first lead of the game, 8-7, at the 14:30 mark of the opening half. After scoring four-straight points, the Redbirds were held scoreless for over two minutes, until Foley and Puni netted back-to-back layups. Crump added a free throw to give a 13-11 advantage to Illinois State. The Redbirds kept the offense going, as Kalyn Gebhardt hit a jumper to push Illinois State's lead to four, 15-11, with 7:23 to play in the first half.
After going scoreless for nearly seven minutes, NKU regained the momentum, as it scored five-straight points to take a 16-15 lead with just under six minutes to play, but Foley answered with a three of her own, 18-16. A 4-0 run by Northern Kentucky gave the Norse a two-point lead, 20-18. Nelson responded with a jumper in the lane to tie the game, 20-20, with 3:27 to play before the break. Then, Northern Kentucky connected a pair of free throws, but Oliver countered with a jumper, 22-22. A late turnover by NKU gave ISU the ball with seconds left before half. Nelson sank a jumper at the buzzer to give ISU a two-point lead heading into the locker room, 24-22.
At the half, Nelson led ISU with eight points, as Foley added five and Hall scored four. Seberger and Crump both pulled down four rebounds, while ISU pulled down 26 rebounds compared to NKU's 12 total rebounds. The Redbirds connected on 44 percent of their shot attempts, as the Norse made 28 percent of their shots.
Oliver had four of Illinois State's first six points of the second half, as the two teams exchanged baskets, 28-28. The Norse used a 5-0 run to take a 32-30 lead, until a NKU foul put Gebhardt at the free throw line. The freshman sank both free throws to tie the game, 32-32. Half way through the second half, Illinois State took the momentum and went on an 8-2 run, including four-straight points from Foley, giving ISU a 40-36 lead with just over 10 minutes to play.
After a scoreless gap by the Norse, they regrouped and went on an 8-0 run to take a 44-40 advantage with six minutes to play. Illinois State sank three free throws, but struggled to connect from the field, it didn't score a field goal for 10 minutes, as Northern Kentucky won, 61-48.
Illinois State will return to action Monday at 7 p.m., against in-state rival DePaul in Chicago.
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