Feb. 2, 2014
Final Stats
PEORIA, Ill. -
Octavia Crump had a career night thanks to a stellar second-half performance, but her effort wasn't enough as the Illinois State (5-14, 4-5 MVC) women's basketball team fell to Missouri Valley Conference rival Bradley (5-15, 2-7 MVC), 64-62, Sunday at the Renaissance Coliseum. Crump set a career-high in both points and rebounds with 21 and 15, respectively. The sophomore forward had 17 second-half points and 10 offensive rebounds.
"As well as we shot the other night, we struggled and that's a bummer," head coach Barb Smith said. "You have good games and bad game, but Octavia had a great game. She did great on the boards and was hitting her shots. They had two or three people on her most of the time, and she was still scoring. It is a tough loss, because we could have had it, but missed the shot."
Lindsay Smith was the only other Redbird in double figures with 10 points, while Stekara Hall added nine and Zenobia Bess had eight points. Smith pulled down six rebounds and Hall grabbed five. The Redbirds shot 36 percent from the field, while the Braves sank 44 percent of their shot attempts. ISU had the advantage on the boards, collecting 40 rebounds, as BU grabbed 37. Illinois State had 36 points in the paint and 16 second chance points, but struggled from three-point range.
ISU got on the board first, but the two teams exchanged baskets through the early minutes of the game. Then, the Braves went on a 6-0 run, as the Redbirds were scoreless for nearly four minutes, until Taylor Stewart sank a wide-open three, starting an 11-0 run by ISU. The run lasted over six minutes, giving ISU a 21-15 lead with 7:10 on the clock, while BU had four turnovers.
Bradley regrouped and used a 9-0 run to regain the lead, 26-23, with 3:27 remaining before the break, while Illinois State struggled to connect from the field for nearly five minutes. ISU ended the run with a jumper from Smith, but four-straight point by BU increased its lead to five, its largest lead of the half. Hall connected on a three to get within three points, 30-28. Hall found the bottom of the net on a jumper, but was waved off for traveling before the basket. The Redbirds went into the locker room trailing by two points, 30-28.
Hall led all scorers at the break with nine points, as Smith scored six in the opening half. Bradley shot a convincing 48 percent, as Illinois State connected on 34 percent of its shot attempts. The Redbirds had the advantage on the boards, pulling down 21, which was four more than the Braves. ISU had 14 points in the paint and five steals at the end of the first half.
Crump scored eight of ISU's first nine points of the second half and a layup by Stewart tied the game, 39-39, with 14:26 on the clock, forcing a BU timeout. After the Braves regained a lead, the Redbirds scored five-straight points to tie the game. The two teams battled back and forth, as there were six tied scores and two lead changes in the first 12 minutes of the second half, 52-52.
The Braves scored four-straight points, but back-to-back layups by Bess and Katy Winge got Illinois State within one, 59-58, with 4:17 remaining on the clock. Crump hit a pair of free throws to tie the game, 60-60, with less than two minutes left in the game. Bradley took a late one-point lead, 63-62, off of a free throw, and a steal by Hall gave the ball back to ISU with 8.9 seconds left on the clock. The Redbirds turned the ball over late and couldn't get a shot off, as the Braves grabbed the win, 64-62.
Illinois State returns to Redbird Arena for a three-game homestand Friday against Indiana State. Tip is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
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