DES MOINES, Iowa – The Illinois State women's basketball team will continue its Iowa road swing Sunday, when the Redbirds face off against the Drake Bulldogs in a Sunday night contest at the Knapp Center starting at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on The Valley On ESPN3 and will follow the Drake men's basketball game against Southern Illinois at 3 p.m.
The Redbirds (3-12, 1-3 MVC) suffered a 65-51 defeat at the hands of the UNI Panthers Friday night in Cedar Falls, Iowa, in the first contest of the two-game swing. Octavia Crump scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds, but eight three-pointers from Northern Iowa propelled the Panthers to a 65-51 win over the Redbirds.
Shakeela Fowler joined Crump as the only other Redbird in double figures with 11 points, while Colleene Smith chipped in seven points and added a game-high 11 rebounds. Illinois State out-rebounded Northern Iowa 43-33 in the contest, but the three-point shooting effort by the Panthers proved to be the difference.
Drake (11-5, 4-1 MVC) is coming off an 80-55 win Friday night at home over Indiana State. After scoring just 29 points in the first two quarters and leading by just two points at halftime, the Bulldogs opened the third quarter on a 14-0 run on the way to a 33-point performance in the period and an easy victory over the Sycamores.
The Bulldogs holds a slight edge in the all-time series with Illinois State, at 36-35. The Bulldogs have won three-straight over the Redbirds, and are 20-13 against Illinois State in games played in Des Moines.
Links for live video, audio and stats can be found at GoRedbirds.com and fans can also receive live updates from the game by following @Redbirdwbb on Twitter.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
