NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team closes the Missouri Valley Conference schedule the same way it started, with Southern Illinois. The Redbirds and the Salukis will face off on the hardwood, Saturday, at 2 p.m., inside SIU Arena.
Illinois State struggled with scoring droughts in its 60-50 loss at Bradley Sunday. ISU shot 31 percent from the field at the Renaissance Coliseum, as the Redbirds couldn't find an offensive spark.
Katy Winge led the Redbirds with 17 points, while Lindsay Smith added 12, with seven coming from the free throw line. Colleene Smith added six points. Bradley connected on 38 percent of its shot attempts and had the advantage on the boards as well, pulling down 41 compared to Illinois State's 38. C. Smith led ISU in rebounds with 11, while L. Smith collected eight. The Redbirds recorded a season-high 15 steals. Despite the season performance in steals, ISU committed 23 turnovers, allowing BU to score 20 points off of the Redbird miscues.
ILLINOIS STATE-SOUTHERN ILLINOIS SERIES
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Southern Illinois, 52-39. In the longest running series in school history, Illinois State has played Southern Illinois annually since 1972. The Redbirds went 22-5 against the Salukis through 1985. After that, SIU posted a 29-13 record in the series, including a string of 12-straight wins. The Redbirds won 11-straight over the Salukis, prior to the loss on Jan. 4, 2015. Illinois State holds a slight 21-19 advantage of games played in Carbondale, Ill. , the last time ISU lost to SIU on the road was on March 4, 2006, in overtime.
FLASHBACK: SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 65, ILLINOIS STATE 56 (Jan. 4)
Southern Illinois defeated Illinois State in the Redbirds' Missouri Valley Conference opener, 65-56, at Redbird Arena. Stekara Hall led the Redbirds with 17 points and Octavia Crump and Katy Winge also tallied double figures, with 14 and 12, respectively. It was not enough though, as Southern Illinois converted its free throws down the stretch, and handed ISU its 12th-straight loss.
MORE STEALS
At Bradley (March 1), Illinois State recorded a season-high 15 steals, as seven different Redbirds tallied a steal. Of the seven Redbirds that were credited with a steal, four of them had two or more steals in the contest. The previous team best was 13 steals, which ISU accomplished against Indiana State on Jan. 18. Colleene Smith led ISU with four steals against the Braves, tying a career high.
SHARING THE BALL
ISU struggled with assists for most of the season, but in its last three 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 followed by a 12-assist performance at Bradley (March 1). It marks the first time this season the Redbirds had three-straight double-digit performances in the assist column. The previous best was two-straight double-digit performances, which came against Bradley (Jan. 30) and Loyola (Feb. 1).
BETTER BOARDS
In the second half of the Valley season, the Redbirds have been outrebounded seven times in eight games. The last time ISU pulled down more boards than its opponent was against Evansville (Feb. 15), when the Redbirds collected 37 compared to the Purple Aces' 35. In the last eight games, ISU is averaging 34 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.
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.
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