NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team returns to Doug Collins Court for its last home weekend of the regular season. ISU hosts Wichita State Friday at 7:05 p.m., before taking on Missouri State Sunday at 2:05 p.m.
Mary Sims led the Redbirds with 12 points, but despite the effort, the Redbirds fell to Evansville, 69-52, at the Ford Center. The 12 points all came in the second half, as Sims connected on three shots from three-point range. Sims just missed a double-double, as she pulled down a career-high nine rebounds.
Katy Winge was the only other Redbird in double figures, as she netted 10 points. Octavia Crump scored five points to go along with five rebounds, while Zenobia Bess led ISU on the boards with seven. Lindsay Smith dished out six assists, setting a career high. ISU shot 34 percent from the field, while UE found the bottom of the net on 42 percent of its shot attempts. ISU had the advantage on the boards, grabbing 37. The Redbirds handed out 14 assists for a season high.
ILLINOIS STATE-WICHITA STATE SERIES
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Wichita State, 42-25. The series began in 1980 and the two teams have met twice annually since 1984. ISU won 15 of the first 17 meetings, with 10 victories coming by double-digits. Wichita State posted a 12-10 record against the Redbirds in the next 22 matchups. Since 2003, ISU is 16-11 against the Shockers, but Wichita State snapped a six-game losing streak to the Redbirds with a 59-56 home win on Jan. 16, 2011. In games played at Normal, Illinois, the Redbirds hold a 24-7 advantage.
FLASHBACK: WICHITA STATE 85, ILLINOIS STATE38 (Jan. 23)
Katy Winge led the Illinois State women's basketball team with nine points against Wichita State at Charles Koch Arena, but several scoring droughts by the Redbirds and hot shooting by the Shockers were too much for ISU to overcome, as it fell, 85-38. Kelli Tolar scored a career-high six points, while Stekara Hall added five points in the game. The Redbirds (0-17, 0-6 MVC) shot 26 percent from the field, while the Shockers (15-3, 6-0 MVC) sank 51 percent of their shot attempts with four players in double figures. Wichita State had the advantage on the boards, as it grabbed 43, compared to Illinois State's 33 boards.
ILLINOIS STATE-MISSOURI STATE SERIES
Missouri State leads the all-time series with Illinois State, 36-31. The two teams have met annually since 1984. ISU won 12 of the first 15 meetings. From 1991-2005, Missouri State posted a 26-6 record against the Redbirds, including a string of 11-consecutive wins. An upset win for the Redbirds in the 2005 MVC Tournament started a 10-1 streak over the Lady Bears, which included eight-straight wins. That streak was snapped with a 76-61 loss at Missouri State win on Jan. 11, 2011. Illinois State leads the Lady Bears, 18-14, in games played at Normal, Illinois.
FLASHBACK: MISSOURI STATE 58, ILLINOIS STATE 35 (Jan. 25)
Despite pulling within three points in the middle of the second half, a late 22-2 run by the Lady Bears proved to be too much, as the Illinois State women's basketball team fell to Missouri State, 58-35, at JQH Arena. Katy Winge led all scorers with 17 points in the contest. Octavia Crump added eight points with six coming in the second half, while Zenobia Bess scored five in the contest. Illinois State (0-18, 0-7 MVC) shot 24 percent from the field, while the late run by Missouri State (8-10, 5-2 MVC) helped MSU connect on 36 percent of its field goal attempts. Taylor Stewart led the Redbirds on the boards, as she tied a career high with eight rebounds, which she accomplished for the third time this season. Mary Sims grabbed six boards, while Bess and Colleene Smith both collected five rebounds. MSU had a slight advantage on the boards, as it pulled down 37, compared to ISU's 35 rebounds.
CRUMP'S NEW RHYTHM
Octavia Crump led the Redbirds in scoring in four of five games from Jan. 30 to Feb. 13, as she netted double-digit scoring performances during the five games, including two career-high performances. Over the five games, Crump averaged 17.6 points per game, while shooting 41 percent from the field and 84 percent from the free throw line. Prior to that, Crump struggled from the field, averaging 4.6 points per game through five games from Jan. 9 through Jan. 25.
GAME SPEED
Though she has only been back on the court for six games, junior Lindsay Smith has quickly gotten back to her old self, recording five steals against Drake (Feb. 8). The five steals against the Bulldogs set a career high for Smith. A week later at Evansville (Feb. 15), Smith dished out six assists, which also set a career high. Through six games on the court, Smith has led the Redbirds in assists four times and twice in steals.
JUST MISSED IT
Junior transfer Mary Sims just missed a double-double against Evansville (Feb. 15), as she pulled down a career-high nine rebounds and scored 12 points, all of which came in the second half. The 12 points came off of 3-of-7 shooting from three-point range to go along with a jumper and a free throw.
SHARING THE BALL
The Redbirds didn't shoot the ball as well against Evansville (Feb. 15) as they did two nights prior at Indiana State (Feb. 13), but ISU handed out a season-high 14 assists against the Purple Aces Sunday. Illinois State has struggled sharing the ball this season, as they averaged 7.5 assists per game prior to the UE game, but the emphasis on sharing the ball paid off Sunday. Six Redbirds recorded assists in the game, as four handed out more than one assist. The previous best was 13, which ISU accomplished against Northern Kentucky (Nov. 19).
MAKING IT RAIN
Illinois State found its offensive momentum against Indiana State (Feb. 13), as the Redbirds set season-high totals in both field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage. In the first half, ISU shot 52 percent from the field, connecting on 13-of-25 attempts. During the second half, the Redbirds sank 43 percent of their field goals. Illinois State shot 48 percent (22-of-46) for the game, marking a season best. From three-point range, the Redbirds shot 55 percent for another season-best performance. Lindsay Smith found the bottom of the net on 2-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc, while Katy Winge was 3-of-5 from three-point range.
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