NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team hosts in-state rival Illinois-Chicago, Monday, at 7 p.m., in its second-straight home game. The game can be seen on ESPN3.
The Redbirds earned their first victory of the season, after defeating Murray State, 81-76, at Redbird Arena Wednesday, Nov. 18. Two freshmen led ISU to its first victory of the season. Shakeela Fowler led the Redbirds with a career-high 18 points, while Millie Stevens added a career-high 17 points. Stevens missed out on a double-double by one rebound, finishing with a game-high nine boards. Fowler also added five assists and four rebounds. Taylor Stewart chipped in 12 points, all of which came in the second half.
The Redbirds shot 28-of-65 (43.1 percent) from the field. Illinois State outscored Murray State in the paint, 38-24. ISU held Murray State to 24-of-67 (35.8 percent) from the field.
REDBIRDS-FLAMES SERIES
The game will mark the 17th time in program history that the Redbirds and the Flames will face off on the hardwood. Illinois State has a convincing 14-2 advantage in the series, and ISU is 7-0 in games played in Normal, Illinois. The teams last competed against each other in the 2012-13 season, when ISU defeated UIC, 86-74, in Chicago. The Redbirds have won the last five games and won nine-straight between 1977 to 1996. UIC's only wins came in 1997 and 2002, marking back-to-back wins in the series.
ABOUT ILLINOIS-CHICAGO
• Illinois-Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois, and has an enrollment of 29,048.
• The Flames are members of the Horizon League and finished the 2014-15 season sixth in the conference.
• The Flames finished 16-14 last season, with a conference record of 6-10.
• UIC returns four starters from last season.
AN OFFENSIVE ATTACK
In ISU's 81-76 victory over Murray State (Nov. 18), the Redbirds were able to drain 81 points by connecting on 43 percent (28-of-65) of their field goal attempts, while finding the bottom of the net 20 times from the free throw line. The last time Illinois State scored 81 points in a game was during the 2012-13 season, when the Redbirds defeated Missouri State, 81-60, on March 3, 2013. The most points ISU scored during the 2014-15 season was 78 on Feb. 22, 2015, in a 90-78 loss to Missouri State. All 10 Redbirds that played in Monday's game found the bottom of the net, helping the Redbirds reach 81 points.
AN EARLY IMPACT
ISU has started four freshmen in each of its first two games of the 2015-16 season, and the freshmen have quickly made an impact. In Illinois State's first victory of the 2015-16 season, the Redbirds' first 22 points were all scored by freshmen, and ISU's two leading scorers were freshmen. Shakeela Fowler and Millie Stevens both scored career highs in the 81-76 win over Murray State (Nov. 18), as Fowler netted 18 points followed by Stevens with 17. Through two games, Fowler leads the Redbirds with 14.0 points per game, as well as six assists and eight steals. Stevens leads the team in rebounds with 6.5 boards per game, while freshman Viria Livingston averages six rebounds per game.
CONTROLLING THE BOARDS
ISU pulled down 47 rebounds against Murray State (Nov. 18), eight more than the Racers, with 15 coming on the offensive side of the ball. Millie Stevens pulled down six offensive boards, while Viria Livingston grabbed three. ISU collected 12 more boards in its second game of the season compared to its season opener.
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