March 15, 2014
Final Stats
ST. CHARLES, Mo. -
Despite Chloe Nelson's lane penetration late in the second half to pull the Illinois State (10-20, 8-10 MVC) women's basketball team within four points of Wichita State (25-6, 14-4 MVC) with just under five minutes remaining in the game, the Redbirds ultimately fell to the Shockers, 66-50, in the semifinal round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Saturday at the Family Arena.
Lindsay Smith shined for Illinois State, as she led the team with 14 points, going a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Alexis Foley followed not far behind, contributing 12 points and pulling down five rebounds. Nelson led ISU on the boards with five rebounds, while Nelson and Smith both handed out three assists. Taylor Stewart had two assists in the game.
ISU shot 38 percent from the field, knocking down 18-of-47 shot attempts, while hitting 33 percent of its attempts from behind the arc. The squad's shooting improved from the charity stripe, as the Redbirds made 63 percent of its shots made from the free throw line. The Redbirds secured a total of 30 rebounds, while the Shockers grabbed 36 boards. Wichita State connected on 46 percent of its shot attempts, as it had 44 points in the paint.
ISU jumped out to a 7-0 lead early in the game, forcing a WSU timeout, as the Shockers were scoreless for the first three minutes of the game. The timeout proved to be beneficial, as WSU scored seven-straight to tie the game four minutes into the contest. Then, the two teams traded points in the middle of the first half, until the Shockers used a 5-0 run to take a four-point lead, 22-18, while the Redbirds were scoreless for over three minutes six minutes into the game.
Wichita State jumped out to an eight-point advantage, 28-20, as Illinois State had another scoring drought, going five minutes without a field goal. Smith got hot near the end of the first half, as she scored seven-straight points to cut WSU's lead from 10 points to five. Then, with time winding down, Stewart got a steal and a layup at the buzzer, as the Redbirds went into the locker room down by three, 32-29.
At the half, ISU was led by Smith, who had 12 points, while Foley added nine. Illinois State shot 42 percent from the field, and Wichita State connected on 47 percent of its shot attempts. The Shockers also had the advantage on the boards, grabbing four more than the Redbirds. Wichita State had 24 points in the paint compared to Illinois State's 10 points.
The Shockers came out strong to open the second half, netting six straight to force a Redbird timeout with a nine-point deficit, 38-29. Octavia Crump hit a short jumper to get ISU on the board in the second half, but WSU took an 11-point advantage four minutes into the second half. Five-straight points by WSU, including a three pointer, increased its margin to 15 points, 51-36, with 12:21 remaining in the game. Then, momentum shifted in favor of ISU, as five-straight free throws and a jumper cut the Shockers' lead to seven, 52-45, with 8:27 on the clock.
Wichita State didn't connect from the floor for nearly seven minutes and a three by Foley and a layup by Nelson got ISU back within four points, 54-50, with five minutes to play, giving the momentum to the Redbirds. The Shockers answered with eight-straight to get back to a double-digit lead, 60-50, with 2:16 on the clock. WSU kept the run alive with three-straight buckets to take a 66-50 lead with less than a minute to play. ISU couldn't answer and fell to Wichita State, 66-50, and was eliminated from the tournament.
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