NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team will close out the regular season with three-straight road games. The Redbirds travel to Loyola for a 7:05 p.m., game Friday before taking on Bradley Sunday at 2:05 p.m.
Lindsay Smith led ISU with a career-high 21 points, as four Redbirds recorded double-digit scoring performances in a 90-78 loss to Missouri State (Feb. 22) at Redbird Arena. Smith was 6-of-9 from the field, including three shots from beyond the arc. It was just the second time this season ISU had four players in double figures.
Katy Winge netted 19 points, while Octavia Crump and Stekara Hall added 11 apiece. ISU shot 44 percent from the field, while MSU poured in 50 percent of its shot attempts. The Lady Bears grabbed 37 boards, as the Redbirds pulled down 33. Crump led ISU with eight boards, including two offensive rebounds, while Mary Sims collected four. ISU dished out a season-high 15 assists. Sims led ISU in the category with a career-high six assists.
ILLINOIS STATE-LOYOLA SERIES
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Loyola, 8-0. The first game of the series was played on March 2, 1978. The two teams faced off for four-straight seasons from 2004 through 2008. ISU holds a 3-0 advantage of games played in Chicago, Illinois.
FLASHBACK: ILLINOIS STATE 72, LOYOLA 56 (FEB. 1)
Mary Sims led the Illinois State women's basketball team to its first victory of the season at Redbird Arena, as the Redbirds defeated Loyola by a score of 72-56. Sims finished with a game- and career-high 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, and a perfect 7-for-7 showing from the line. She also had seven rebounds. Katy Winge, Octavia Crump and Lindsay Smith joined Sims in double figures, scoring 14, 12 and 10 points, respectively. ISU shot 42.9 percent (21-for-49) from the field and 83.3 percent (25-for-30) from the free-throw line, which matches a season high for free throws made. The Redbirds outrebounded Loyola, 37-30.
ILLINOIS STATE-BRADLEY SERIES
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Bradley, 45-21, since 1984. The two teams have met at least twice each season since 1984. While Bradley has never won more than two-consecutive games over ISU, the Redbirds have five winning streaks of at least four games. Bradley snapped a 15-game winning streak by Illinois State on March 7, 2013 which dated back to 2006, with 11 of those wins coming by double-digits. Illinois State has the advantage in games played at Peoria, Illinois, 19-10.
FLASHBACK: BRADLEY 58, ILLINOIS STATE 55 (JAN. 30)
Illinois State had a shot at the buzzer to tie, but it was off the mark and ISU fell to Bradley, 58-55, at Redbird Arena. Octavia Crump and Mary Sims each recorded career-highs in points and led the way for the Redbirds. Crump dropped a game-high 22 points while Sims tallied 13. Both players grabbed six rebounds and dished out two assists.
OFFENSIVE ATTACK
Lindsay Smith led Illinois State with a career-high 21 points, as four Redbirds recorded double-digit scoring performances in a 90-78 loss to Missouri State (Feb. 22) at Redbird Arena. The 78 points were the most scored by the Redbirds this season, as they shot 44 percent from the field. Smith was 6-of-9 from the field, including three shots from beyond the arc. She was also a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Katy Winge netted 19 points, while Octavia Crump and Stekara Hall added 11 apiece. It marked the second time this season ISU had four players in double figures, with the last time coming against Loyola (Feb. 1) in ISU's lone win of the season. Illinois State trailed by 20 points in the second half, but didn't give up, as the Redbirds continued to fight back, before running out of time. The Redbirds also dished out a season-high 15 assists in the contest. Mary Sims led ISU in the category with six assists, setting a career high.
ALL THE WAY BACK
Lindsay Smith led the Redbirds in scoring over the weekend against Wichita State (Feb. 20) and Missouri State (Feb. 22), netting double figures in both contests. Against the Lady Bears, Smith poured in a career-high 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, including three makes from three-point territory. She was also a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Smith led the team in steals with four, to go along with two assists and three rebounds in 34 minutes. Over the weekend, Smith averaged 16 points per game, shooting 53 percent from the field. She pulled down the second-most rebounds among Redbird players, with 4.5 boards per game. After sitting out the first 17 games due to injury, Smith has found her rhythm. In nine games, Smith is averaging 7.7 points per game and is shooting 34 percent from the field. She leads the Redbirds in assists with 24 so far during the conference season.
MUCH IMPROVED
The last time the Redbirds played Wichita State (Jan. 23), the Shockers netted six 3-pointers, draining 50 percent of their shots from three-point range. On Friday (Feb. 20), WSU was unable to connect from beyond the arc, going 0-of-13 from three-point territory. It was the first time this season ISU kept an opponent from scoring a 3-pointer. ISU's zone defense proved to be the difference between the games.
CAN'T HOLD ON
The Redbirds took a two-point lead, 41-39, against MVC-leader Wichita State (Feb. 20) with 4:29 left in Friday's game, but ISU's offensive attack came to a stop. Illinois State wasn't able to score again in the game, allowing Wichita State to score the final seven points and take the win, 46-41. ISU had worked its way back from a 10-point deficit thanks to a 13-5 run.
TWO DIFFERENT HALVES
Illinois State struggled to get its offense going in the first half of Friday's game against Wichita State (Feb. 20), as it netted just nine points by the 5:00 mark. Illinois State's points came from three field goals and a pair of free throws. ISU had several scoring droughts and WSU's press forced 11 Redbird turnovers in the first 15 minutes of the game. ISU ended the first half with 16 points and 14 turnovers. ISU came out of the locker room with a new intensity in the second half, working its way back from a 10-point deficit to take a two-point lead with 4:29 remaining in the game. ISU scored 25 second-half points and committed eight turnovers.
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