NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team will stay on the road, as it takes on Bradley Sunday at 2:05 p.m. The Redbirds have two regular-season contests remaining.
ISU used a late run to cut Loyola's 18-point lead, but the late push wasn't enough, as the Redbirds fell to the Ramblers, 67-53, Friday at Gentile Arena. Katy Winge led the Redbirds with 14 points, as Lindsay Smith and Octavia Crump were also in double figures.
L. Smith scored 12 points, while Crump added 11. ISU connected on 35 percent of its field goal attempts, while Loyola found the bottom of the net on 46 percent of its shot attempts. The Ramblers were led by Taylor Manuel, who had 19 points. L. Smith led ISU on the boards with six, while Winge and Mary Sims both grabbed five. In the game, the Redbirds dished out 10 assists and collected 10 steals.
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.
BETTER BOARDS
In the second half of the Valley season, the Redbirds have been outrebounded six times in seven games. The last time ISU pulled down more boards than an opponent was against Evansville (Feb. 15), when the Redbirds collected 37 compared to the Purple Aces' 35. In the last seven games, ISU is averaging 33 rebounds per game, while its opponents are grabbing 40 boards per game. At Loyola (Feb. 27), the Ramblers pulled down 10 more rebounds than the Redbirds.
SHARING THE BALL
ISU struggled with assists for most of the season, but in its last two games, the Redbirds have dished out double-digit assists. Against Missouri State (Feb. 22), Illinois State had a season-high 15 assists, while Mary Sims led the Redbirds in the category with a career-high six assists. At Loyola (Feb. 27), ISU handed out 10 assists. It marks just the second time this season the Redbirds had two-straight double-digit performances in the assist column. The last time came against Bradley (Jan. 30) and Loyola (Feb. 1).
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.
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