March 9, 2014
2014 Bracket
ST. LOUIS - After ending the Missouri Valley Conference season tied for sixth place with Missouri State, the Illinois State women's basketball team earned the sixth seed in the Valley Tournament, as a result of the league's tiebreaking procedures. The sixth seeded Redbirds will take on No. 3 Northern Iowa, just eight days after their last matchup.
Illinois State (9-19, 8-10 MVC) and Northern Iowa (17-12, 13-5 MVC) will face off Friday at 8:37 p.m., in St. Charles, Mo., at the Family Arena. Northern Iowa won both contests during the regular season by a total of 39 points.
In the first meeting (Jan. 5), UNI defeated ISU by 20 points, 83-63. A 20-0 first half run by Northern Iowa proved too much for Illinois State to overcome. Chloe Nelson led all players with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Octavia Crump added 13 points and eight rebounds, while Kalyn Gebhardt recorded career-bests in points and minutes, with 10 and 12, respectively. All five UNI starters scored in double figures, led by Stephanie Davison's 20, as the Panthers shot 54 percent from the floor, including 52 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
During the most recent matchup on March 6, Crump netted 17 points, including a perfect 5-of-5 showing at the free throw line, but her effort wasn't enough, as ISU fell to Northern Iowa, 89-70, thanks to UNI's 54 percent shooting performance. The Panthers' 89 points were the most scored by a Redbird opponent this season. Nelson was the only other Redbird to score in double figures, as she had 15 points. Like Crump, Nelson was also perfect at the free throw line, going 9-of-9 from the charity stripe. Katy Winge added nine points, shooting 4-of-6 from the field, while ISU connected on 34 percent of its shot attempts from the field. ISU outrebounded UNI by three, as the Redbirds grabbed 39 boards. Illinois State only committed eight turnovers, the fewest miscues by ISU this season.
Against the Panthers this season, Nelson is averaging 18 points per game and is perfect from the free throw line (14-of-14), while Crump averages 15 points per game. Crump also leads the team in rebounds with eight per game. As a team, ISU shot 35 percent from the field, while UNI connected on 54 percent of its shot attempts.
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