Dec. 4, 2013
Game 6: Illinois state vs. Northern Illinois |
Date: December 5 |
Time: 7:05 p.m. |
Location: Normal, Ill. (Redbird Arena) |
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Twitter: @ISUwbb |
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NORMAL, Ill. - After a week-long trip to the Bahamas, the Illinois State women’s basketball team will be back in Redbird Arena, when it hosts in-state rival Northern Illinois Thursday at 7:05 p.m.
It will be the 21st meeting between Illinois State and Northern Illinois Thursday, as ISU leads 15-5, including a perfect 9-0 home record. The Redbirds are currently on a five-game winning streak over the Huskies with the last game being played just over two years ago on Nov. 26, 2011. In the contest, ISU won by 19 points, 81-62, in Redbird Arena.
Illinois State finished second in the Freeport Division of the Junkanoo Jam over the weekend, grabbing its first win of the season over Florida (Nov. 29), 68-64. Then, in the championship game, ISU fell to then-No. 14/13 Penn State by 12 points, 72-60. For her efforts over the tournament, Alexis Foley was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week. It is her first Valley honor and ISU’s first weekly honor this season. Foley also earned All-Valley Scholar-Athlete of the Week accolades for the first time in her career.
WEEKLY HONORS FOR FOLEY
Sophomore guard Alexis Foley was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week for the first time in her career, as announced by the league office (Dec. 2). It is the first weekly Valley honor for a Redbird player this season. Foley led the Illinois
State women’s basketball team to a second-place finish in the Freeport Division of the Junkanoo Jam over the weekend, as she collected back-to-back career-high performances against Florida and Penn State. For her performances over the weekend, Foley was named to the all-tournament team. Against Florida, the Redbirds tallied their first win of the season with a 68-64 victory over the Gators. Foley netted 21 points, thanks to 4-of-5 shooting effort from three-point territory. She also sank three jumpers and three free throws in a career-high 39 minutes. In the championship game against No. 14/13 Penn State, Foley recorded her second-straight career-high performance of the weekend. Despite netting 24 points with six three pointers, which also set a career-high,
Foley and ISU fell to PSU, 72-60. The White Bear Lake, Minn., native averaged 22.5 points over the two games. She also brought down eight rebounds over the weekend, with an assist and a steal.
THE TOP-25
So far during the 2013-14 season, the Redbirds have faced two top-25 ranked teams with games against DePaul (Nov. 18) and
Penn State (Nov. 30). When ISU faced off against DePaul, the Blue Demons were ranked No. 25, while Penn State was ranked No. 14/13. Illinois State has never strayed away from playing ranked opponents, as ISU has played a ranked foe in 27 season in program history. The Redbirds two-ranked opponents are the most in a single season since the 2004-05 season, when they played three ranked teams.
TOP-100 NCAA RANKINGS
Alexis Foley is in the top-100 players in the NCAA in two categories. Foley ranks No. 37 in three-point field goal percentage at 46.2 percent and is No. 92 in three-point field goals made with 2.4 per game. The Redbirds are also in the top-100 teams in three categories. Illinois State is ranked in three-pointers made (95th), three-point field goal percentage (49th) and No. 97 in rebound margin.
REACHING THE CHAMPIONSHIP
The Illinois State women’s basketball team traveled to the Bahamas over Thanksgiving to compete in the eight-team Junkanoo
Jam, ran by Basketball Travelers. The Redbirds competed in the Freeport Division with Florida, Oregon State and Penn State.
ISU defeated Florida for its first win of the season, 68-64, and advanced to the championship game of the Freeport Division against No. 14/13 Penn State. In the championship game, the Redbirds fell to the Lady Lions, 72-60. ISU’s first appearance at the tournament was during the 2004-05 season, when ISU fell to No. 16 Kansas State and Stephen F. Austin.
THE STARTING FIVE
Only five players scored in both of ISU’s games in the Junkanoo Jam (Nov. 29-30). The five players were the Redbird starters: Chloe Nelson, Alexis Foley, Brianna Puni, Stekara Hall and Octavia Crump. Nelson, Foley, Puni and Crump netted double figures in both games. It also marked the first time this season that ISU had the same starting five in back-to-back games.
A THREE-POINT GAME
Against Florida, the Illinois State guards connected on eight three pointers off of 16 attempts, shooting 50 percent from three-point territory. Chloe Nelson and Alexis Foley both netted four three pointers, as they were the only two players to score from beyond the arc. In the championship game against Penn State, ISU sank nine three pointers, as Foley sank a career-high six threes.
The Redbirds have improved from three-point range in each of their games. In ISU’s first game of the season at Northern Kentucky
(Nov. 13), the Redbirds shot 15 percent from three-point land. In ISU’s 68-64 win, the Redbirds held the Gators to 13 percent (2-of-15) beyond the arc.
GETTING THE WIN
Chloe Nelson scored a career-high, as she led the Illinois State women’s basketball team to a 68-64 win over Florida (Nov. 29) in the Freeport Division of the Junkanoo Jam. Nelson had her third-straight career-high performance, as she netted 26 points, while
Alexis Foley scored 21 points of her own. Illinois State shot 48 percent from the fi­eld and connected on 50 percent (8-of-16) of its three-point attempts, while Florida made 41 percent of its shots, but struggled from beyond the arc, making just 13 percent (2-of-15) of its three pointers. The Redbirds pulled down one more rebound than the Gators, 32-31.
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