NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team returns home to Doug Collins Court to host Evansville Friday at 7:05 p.m., before welcoming Indiana State Sunday at 2 p.m., for PACK the Arena. Illinois State leads the all-time series with Evansville with a convincing 27-14 series record, while leading the Indiana State series, 47-38.
Northern Iowa poured in 14 3-pointers against ISU, while the Redbirds struggled from the field Sunday (Jan. 11) at the McLeod Center. ISU couldn't slow down UNI and fell, 71-43, as the Panthers shot 47 percent from three-point range in the game.
Katy Winge led the Redbirds with 12 points with 10 coming in the second half, while Octavia Crump and Taylor Stewart both added six points. Northern Iowa had three players in double figures. Colleene Smith grabbed a team-high seven rebounds followed by Mackenzie Freeman, with five. UNI had a slight advantage on the boards, pulling down 36, while ISU grabbed 31, including 11 offensive rebounds. The Redbirds shot 34 percent from the field, while the Panthers connected on 47 percent of their shot attempts.
ILLINOIS STATE-EVANSVILLE SERIES
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Evansville, 27-14. The series began when Evansville joined the Valley in 1995, with ISU winning the first eight meetings. Illinois State holds a slight 19-14 advantage since then, including 14 wins in the last 17 games. The Redbirds are 11-9 all-time against the Purple Aces in Normal, Illinois. ISU fell to UE at home last year on Feb. 14 by 13 points.
ILLINOIS STATE-INDIANA STATE SERIES
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Indiana State, 47-38. The series, which began in 1972, is the second-longest in Illinois State history. Illinois State started out with a 30-16 record against Indiana State, including a string of 12-straight wins from 1980-87. Indiana State then won 13 of the next 14 meetings and Illinois State is 16-9 in the last 25 matchups. Illinois State holds a record of 29-16 over Indiana State in games played in Normal, Illinois.
STOPPING THE THREE
In ISU's loss at Northern Iowa (Jan. 11), the Panthers drained 14 3-pointers in the contest, tying the most made threes by a Redbird opponent this season. DePaul also netted 14 shots beyond the arc on Dec. 28, 2014. Five Panthers connected from three-point range, as the team shot 47 percent from behind the arc. UNI was led by Amber Sorenson, who went 5-of-7 from three-point territory. Through 14 games, ISU opponents are shooting 33 percent from beyond the arc.
MORE FROM THE LINE
In the loss against Northern Iowa (Jan. 11), the Redbirds connected on 33 percent of their free throw attempts (3-of-9). It was the second time this season that ISU has shot below 50 percent from the line in a game. The first time was against UT Martin (Dec. 7), when ISU connected on 38 percent of its attempts at the charity stripe (8-of-21).
PLAYING IN THE PAINT
In ISU's loss to Drake (Jan. 9), the Bulldogs netted 57 percent of their field goal attempts, which was the highest field goal percentage by a Redbird opponent this season. ISU has allowed eight opponents to shoot 40 percent or better from the field this season. In the 86-51 loss to Drake, the Bulldogs scored 52 points in the paint, the most by an opponent this season. Miami (Nov. 28) scored 50 points in the paint.
A CAREER GAME
Junior transfer Mary Sims helped lead the Redbirds from the point guard position over the weekend against Drake and Northern Iowa, averaging 7.5 points per game. Against Drake (Jan. 9), Sims scored a career-high 11 points, including three shots from beyond the arc. The junior transfer netted four field goals and three 3-pointers, setting career highs in both categories. Sims also grabbed two rebounds, to go along with two steals and an assist against the Bulldogs.
BATTLE FOR BOARDS
Over the weekend, the Redbirds grabbed 31 boards in both road contests at Drake and Northern Iowa. Prior to the road swing, the Redbirds had pulled down 40 or more rebounds in three-straight games. ISU looks to get back to controlling the boards this weekend.
LOOKING FOR A SPARK
Against Drake (Jan. 9), head coach Barb Smith went with a different starting lineup for the first time in seven games. Octavia Crump, Stekara Hall and Katy Winge have been in the starting lineup each game this season. The trio was joined by Colleene Smith and Mary Sims for the first starts of their careers. Then, against Northern Iowa (Jan. 11), B. Smith changed the starting five again, as Hall and Winge were joined by C. Smith, Mackenzie Freeman and Taylor Stewart. Both Freeman and C. Smith made their second starts of the season against the Panthers.
NEED A NEW STREAK
The Illinois State women's basketball team has dropped 14-straight games with their last win coming against Northern Iowa on March 14, 2014, by two points in the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The losing streak is the longest in ISU women's basketball history. The previous longest losing streak was 13 games, which happened during the 1998-99 season, when the Redbirds were winless from Dec. 30 through Feb. 13.
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