Feb. 27, 2014
Final Stats
NORMAL, Ill. -
Down by nine points at halftime to I-74 rival Bradley, Illinois State fought back in the second half to briefly regain the lead before the Braves (7-19, 4-11 MVC) held on down the stretch and picked up a win over the Redbirds (8-17, 7-8 MVC) Thursday night on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
The game was close throughout, with six ties and nine lead changes throughout the 40 minutes of play. Bradley's 19 second-chance points off 20 offensive rebounds proved to be the difference in the game for the Braves. Katy Winge led the Redbirds with 14 points, one shy of her career high, and Stekara Hall chipped in 13 points to go along with five rebounds for ISU.
Illinois State scored eight-straight points over 2:11 to take a 15-8 advantage at the 14:01 mark of the first half, but after the hot shooting, the Redbirds ran into a scoring drought. During ISU's scoreless period, Bradley used a 10-0 run to regain the lead, 18-15, with 11:05 left to play before the break. Then, it was ISU's turn to go on another, scoring eight-straight points to take back the lead, 23-18, with 6:42 on the clock.
The Braves answered with another run of their own, taking the momentum and a two-point lead, 25-23. ISU had another scoring drought, as it went without a basket for three minutes, until Alison Seberger found the bottom of the net on a free throw to pull with within one, 25-24, at the 3:41 mark. It was the last time ISU would score before the end of the half, and BU took a 33-24 lead heading into the locker room.
ISU was led by Hall, who had eight points at the half. Lindsay Smith and Winge both added four apiece, as Illinois State shot 32 percent from the field. Bradley connected on 42 percent of its shots attempts and led in the rebound categories with 21, one more than ISU. The Redbirds had three blocks and five steals in the opening half.
After struggling from the field the final minutes of the first half, the Redbirds opened the second half with a 16-6 advantage, regaining the lead, 40-39, six minutes into the second half. Winge had seven points during the first few minutes of the half, including five-straight. Illinois State didn't connect from the field for over four minutes, until Smith sank a three to get the Redbirds back within four, 48-44.
Illinois State didn't sink a field goal for nearly six minutes, while Bradley was scoreless for nearly seven minutes, as both teams only points came from the charity stripe. ISU got within one point twice during the final 1:30 of the game. Then, down by three with 23 seconds to play, Chloe Nelson sank a shot from three-point range to tie the game, 58-58, but a free throw by the Braves
ISU returns to the court Sunday for its regular season home finale against Loyola. Tip is scheduled for 2:05 p.m., as the Redbirds will recognize their seniors at the conclusion of the game.
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