NORMAL, Ill. – After coming up short in its season opener at Northern Illinois Friday, the Illinois State women's basketball team only has a day break before it is back in action Sunday at 4 p.m., against Wisconsin at the Kohl Center.
Despite overcoming a 12-point deficit and pulling within one point late in the second half, Illinois State (0-1) came up short in its season opener against in-state rival Northern Illinois (1-0), as the Redbirds fell, 55-51, at the Convocation Center. Katy Winge led ISU with 12 points with 10 coming in the first half.
Winge was 5-of-12 from the field and sank two free throws, while grabbing three rounds and dishing out two assists. Taylor Stewart scored a career-high 11 points, shooting 50 percent from the field. Stewart also dished out five of ISU's seven assists. The five assists also set a career high for Stewart. Stekara Hall and Colleene Smith added nine and seven points, respectively, while Octavia Crump led the Redbirds with seven boards. Zenobia Bess recorded a career-high four blocks to go along with five rebounds.
Redbirds-Badgers Series
Illinois State and Wisconsin will meet for the 16th time in program history Sunday afternoon at the Kohl Center. ISU holds a 10-5 lead over Wisconsin, in a series that dates back to 1975. The Redbirds won the most recent contest, 62-59, at Madison, Wis., on March 20, 2011, in the WNIT. Illinois State holds a 4-2 record of games played on Wisconsin's campus.
ABOUT Wisconsin
• Wisconsin is located in Madison, Wisconsin, and has an enrollment of 43,275.
• The Badgers are members of the Big Ten Conference.
• The Badgers finished 10-19 last season and finished 11th in the Big Ten.
• Wisconsin returns four starters from last season's team.
• Wisconsin won both of its exhibition game. Sunday's game marks the season opener for the Badgers.
Comeback Falls Short
Despite overcoming a 12-point deficit and pulling within one point late in the second half, Illinois State (0-1) came up short in its season opener against in-state rival Northern Illinois (Nov. 14), as the Redbirds fell, 55-51, at the Convocation Center. Katy Winge led ISU with 12 points with 10 coming in the first half. Winge scored back-to-back jumpers to get ISU within nine, but NIU regrouped and took its largest lead of the half, 30-18, with 3:22 remaining before the break. Despite a Redbird run early in the second half, Northern Illinois used a 9-3 run to take a 41-32 lead with eight minutes remaining in the contest. Then, Illinois State went to work and chipped away at the Northern Illinois lead, cutting the advantage to one, 47-46, with 3:19 to play off of a three by Stekara Hall. Northern Illinois scored six-straight points, but a three in the corner by Mackenzie Freeman brought ISU within two, 53-51, with 40 seconds left. A pair of Huskie free throws sealed the win for Northern Illinois, as Illinois State fell in its season opener, 55-51.
Three in Six
After falling in the season opener at Northern Illinois, the Redbirds move on to face Wisconsin. Sunday's game in Madison, Wisconsin, will put Illinois State in the middle of its three games in six days. ISU took on NIU Friday (Nov. 14), before heading up to face the Badgers Sunday (Nov. 16). Then, ISU will have two days off before opening its home season at Redbird Arena Wednesday (Nov. 19) against Northern Kentucky. The three games in six days will be the quickest turn-around for the Redbirds this season.
Career bests
Despite the outcome of the Redbirds' season opener, Illinois State saw a couple players set new career-bests, as both Zenobia Bess and Taylor Stewart set two new marks. Bess pulled down a career-best five rebounds, as well as recording a career-best four blocks against Northern Illinois. Then, Stewart stepped up and took control of the point guard spot, as she scored 11 points and dished out five assists, both setting career highs.
The Charity Stripe and the boards
The difference in ISU's four-point loss at Northern Illinois (Nov. 14) could be summed up in two categories - free throws and rebounds. The Huskies outrebounded the Redbirds by seven boards, 44-37, including 14 offensive boards for NIU compared to ISU's six. The Huskies also had the advantage at the free throw line, sinking 11 more free throws than the Redbirds. Northern Illinois scored 16 points at the free throw line, while Illinois State only added five points.
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