DES MOINES, Iowa – The Illinois State women's basketball team couldn't slow down a hot-shooting Drake team that shot 57 percent from the field and fell, 86-51, Friday at the Knapp Center. In the Redbird loss, the Bulldogs scored 52 points in the paint and drained 68 percent of their shot attempts in the second half.
The Redbirds (0-13, 0-2 MVC) were led by Octavia Crump, who netted 12 points, including a perfect 6-of-6 performance from the free throw line. Mary Sims and Taylor Stewart both added 11 points. Colleene Smith led the team with eight rebounds, while Crump and Zenobia Bess each grabbed five. Drake (8-6, 3-0 MVC) had five players in double figures.
ISU struggled from the field in the game, as it shot 26 percent, but the team connected on 87 percent from the charity stripe. The Bulldogs dominated the boards, pulling down 47 compared to the Redbirds' 31 rebounds.
"We knew we would have to show up tonight and play our best game," head coach Barb Smith said. "It got tough for us, and we just wouldn't compete and that is disappointing. We weren't moving the ball well enough, and we weren't playing in sync the way we should have been. Colleene played a great game. She was all over the place with great hustle. We need the rest of the team to get to that level of energy."
Drake jumped out to an early lead, 15-8, and the momentum stayed with the Bulldogs through the middle of the first half, as they used a 9-0 run to take a 14-point advantage, 24-10. Then, Stewart came off the bench and gave life to the Redbirds, as she scored five-straight points, pulling ISU within nine points, 24-15, at the 10 minute mark of the first half.
Despite the offensive spark from Stewart, Drake maximized on ISU's second three-minute scoring drought of the half and scored six-straight points to take a 15-point advantage, 30-15, with 7:14 left before the break. The Bulldogs were scoreless for nearly five minutes, as the Redbirds pulled within 10 points thanks to four points by Crump, but a late 10-2 run by Drake sent ISU to the locker room trailing by 18 points, 41-23.
At the half, Sims and Stewart led the Redbirds with five points apiece, as Crump and Stekara Hall both added four. Crump and Smith controlled the boards for the Redbirds, as both pulled down five rebounds in the first half, but their effort wasn't enough, as Drake grabbed 27 rebounds in the first half compared to ISU's 17. Drake was also hot from the field in the first half, finding the bottom of the net on 49 percent of its attempts. Illinois State netted 25 percent of its field goal attempts in the first half.
Drake's hot shooting helped the Bulldogs go on a 14-3 run early in the second half for a 62-31 advantage with 13:16 left in the game. Then, Crump scored eight-straight points, as she went to work in the post, 66-39, but the Bulldogs responded with six-straight points in the middle of the second half, 74-39. Illinois State couldn't stop Drake's offensive attack, as it ran out of time and fell, 86-51, in its second Missouri Valley Conference contest.
The Redbirds stay on the road in Iowa, as they take on Northern Iowa Sunday at 2 p.m.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
