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NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team (2-3) returns to Redbird Arena Thursday evening when the Redbirds welcome Eastern Illinois (4-3) to begin a four-game homestand over the next 11 days. Tipoff for Thursday's contest is slated for 7 p.m.
Fans attending Thursday's game are encouraged to bring an unwrapped gift for the WJBC Brotherhood Tree Toy Drive. Boxes will be placed at each entrance for fans to donate the unwrapped gifts. Because of a high demand this year, gifts are being given to children, infants-18 year olds.
THE SERIES:
Illinois State and Eastern Illinois are meeting for the 41st time in program history, with the Redbirds holding a commanding 31-9 record in the all-time series, including a 15-4 advantage in Normal.
THE COACHES:
Illinois State: Barb Smith (Ohio State, 1986) is in her fourth season as the head coach at Illinois State and has the Redbirds off to their best start in her four seasons as the Redbird head coach.
EIU: Debbie Black (Saint Joseph's, 1988) is in her fourth season as the head coach at Eastern Illinois (29-64), with this being her first head coaching job. She is a former WNBA Defensive Player of the Year with the Miami Sol.
ILLINOIS STATE:
The Redbirds were picked to finish eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference. Illinois State improved to over .500 for the first time since finishing the 2012-13 season 24-11, after the Redbirds handled Valparaiso, 77-56, in their 2016-17 home opener Saturday, Nov. 19. Senior Taylor Stewart leads the way in scoring, averaging 14.0 points per game to go along with 3.6 rebounds per game and a team-high 11 assists while shooting 41.9 percent (13-of-31) from downtown. Junior Hannah Green adds 10.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 2.3 steals per game.
EASTERN ILLINOIS:
Picked to finish last in the 12-team Ohio Valley Conference, the Panthers are off to a 4-3 start, including a pair of road wins over MVC-foe Evansville (73-63) and Florida A&M (66-50). EIU had won two straight before losing at home to MVC-opponent Indiana State, 88-61, Monday night. Grace Lennox paces the Panthers in scoring (12.6 ppg), assists (3.9 apg) and steals (1.7 spg). Allison Van Dyke, who has earned the past two OVC Freshman of the Week honors, adds 12.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, while Erica Brown tallies 11.4 points, a team-best 7.1 rebounds and a team-high 1.6 blocks per game. Jalisha Smith chips in 10.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS THE PANTHERS
Thursday's meeting with Eastern Illinois will be the 41st meeting in the all-time series, which dates back to Jan. 13, 1973, when the Redbirds won at home, 56-50, which started a 10-game win streak right off the bat in propelling Illinois State to a 31-9 advantage overall. The Panthers finally got on the board in a 58-57 victory at Horton Fieldhouse, Dec. 15, 1978, before Illinois State won three in a row, six of seven and eight of 10. Eastern Illinois won the last matchup between the two schools, 83-69, Nov, 21, 2011, in Charleston, Illinois, to snap a seven-game Redbird win streak (and winners of 11 out of 12 at the time in the series). Illinois State 15-4 versus the Panthers at home, with the last Eastern Illinois victory coming on the road Feb. 16, 1991, by a score of 72-70.
AGAINST THE PANTHERS IN DECEMBER
The Redbirds are 3-1 all-time against the Panthers in the month of December, having won the last three, after dropping the first meeting in Eastern Illinois' first-ever victory over Illinois State. The Redbirds won on the road the following season, 77-61, Dec. 12, 1979. It took over 29 years for the two sides to play against each other in the 12th month when Illinois State won at home, 75-73, Dec. 29, 2008, and the following season on the road, 82-66, Dec. 22, 2009.
VERSUS THE OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE
The Redbirds are 39-16 all-time versus current members of the Ohio Valley Conference, with 40 of those games and 31 of the victories coming against Eastern Illinois. The last OVC opponent Illinois State played was Murray State in the 2015-16 home opener, which was an 81-76 victory Nov. 18, 2015.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
Senior Taylor Stewart, the Redbirds' leading scorer, has already tallied 70 points and swished 13 three-pointers. She did not score her 70th point last season until the 12th game of the season (New Year's Day), and did not make her 13th triple until the 13th contest (1/3/16). She needs only 14 more points to reach 500 for her career.
NEW STARTING LINEUP
Illinois State used a different starting lineup for the first time this season when they played at Northern Illinois. Freshmen Megan Talbot and Frannie Corrigan made their first career starts, while senior Brechelle Beachum made her first start of the season.
MORGAN MAKING MOVES
Freshman Morgan VanHyfte came off the bench at NIU and produced season highs of 15 points, four rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal while knocking down 6-of-12 shots, including 2-of-3 from distance.
OTHER FRESHMEN STEP UP
Megan Talbot led the Redbirds in rebounds (6) and blocks (2) against the Huskies and chipped in nine points, tallying season highs in all three categories. Frannie Corrigan chipped in a season-high six points and three rebounds, while Zakiya Beckles netted the first five points of her career.
TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK
Illinois State turned it over a season-low 10 times against NIU and is averaging only 11.7 turnovers per game over its last three.
SO MUCH ROBBERY
The Redbirds recorded a season-high 18 steals in the win over Valparaiso. Joining junior Hannah Green with four steals against the Crusaders was sophomore Katrina Beck, who registered a career high, and senior Brechelle Beachum recorded a season-high three. Eight of the 11 Redbirds who played tallied at least one. And against Yale, Beck once again tied her career high with four.
ABOVE .500
The win over Valparaiso moved the Redbirds over the .500 mark for the first time since finishing the 2012-13 season with a record of 24-11.
STEWART'S CAREER DAY FOLLOWS STEWART'S CAREER NIGHT
Senior Taylor Stewart poured in a career-high 24 points and tied the program record for most three-pointers in a game with seven in the win over Valparaiso. She made of 7-of-12 from behind the arc, setting new career highs in both three-point field goals and attempts, and finished the game 7-of-14 from the field, tying her career best made field goals. In the previous contest at UIC, Stewart tied or set a new career high in six different categories. She scored a then career-best 19 points, connected on a career-high seven field goals, tied a career best in field goal attempts with 15, swished a then career-high four three's, took a then career-best 10 three-pointers and recorded a career-high four steals for the third time in her career. Over the two-game sample, Stewart averaged 21.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game.
GREEN GOBBLES UP VALPO
Junior Hannah Green produced a solid all-around performance in the win over Valparaiso. Not only did she produce season highs in points (15), rebounds (9) and steals (4), she held the Crusaders' leading scorer, Dani Franklin, to only seven points, 18.5 points below her season average.
STEVENS SHINES AFTER SLOW START AGAINST VALPARAISO
Sophomore Millie Stevens missed her first six shots against Valparaiso, but she finished strong, scoring a season-high 15 points while tying a career high in rebounds with nine.
LIVINGSTON STUFFS THE STAT SHEET
Sophomore Viria Livingston stuffed the stat sheet against Valparaiso with five points, a season-high seven rebounds, a career-best six assists and two steals. She also set the tone on defense with her ball pressure.
DRAINING FROM DOWNTOWN
The Redbirds recorded a season-high 10 triples against Valparaiso, their most in a game since making 10 against Bradley, Feb. 12, 2012.
TURNOVERS
The Redbirds took much better care of the basketball against Valparaiso and turned the ball over only 12 times. Illinois State's defensive pressure forced the Crusaders into 30 turnovers, which led to a 27-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
WINNING THE BATTLE ON THE GLASS
The Redbirds won the battle on the glass for the first time this season, 43-39, in the win over Valparaiso. Illinois State also held a huge lead on the offensive boards, 20-7, which resulted in a 16-4 lead in second-chance points.
BEACHUM RIGHT BEHIND AT UIC
Senior Brechelle Beachum also had a career night offensively in the win over UIC, tying or establishing career highs in four different categories. She netted a career-best 15 points, made a career-high five field goals, tied a career best in field goal attempts with 13 and tied her career high in made three's with two.
NONCONFERENCE ROAD LOSING SKID ENDS
Illinois State's victory at UIC ended a 15-game losing streak in true nonconference road games. Before Monday night's win, the Redbirds' last win on the road in the nonconference was Dec. 30, 2012 when they won at Butler, 65-57. Including neutral site games, Illinois State had lost 19 of its last 20 away from Redbird Arena, with its only win coming in a 68-64 triumph over Florida, Nov. 29, 2013 in the Bahamas.
1-1 START
Illinois State's win over UIC produced the Redbirds' second-consecutive 1-1 start to the season.
46TH SEASON OPENER
Illinois State dropped to 21-25 all-time in season openers, after falling at No. 18/16 Arizona State.
LONGEST ROAD TRIP
The season-opening trip to Tempe, Arizona, then to Chicago, Illinois, was Illinois State's longest road trip of the season in terms of days (5) and miles (3,652) roundtrip.
REDBIRDS PICKED EIGHTH IN THE MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE
Illinois State was selected to finish eighth in the 2016-17 Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll, announced Tuesday, Oct. 25 by the league prior to the start of the league's Media Day at the St. Louis City Center Hotel. The poll is compiled from votes by the conference's sports information directors, media and coaches. The Redbirds received 123 points in the poll, after finishing seventh last season when they were predicted to finish last. Drake is the favorite to win the league, as the Bulldogs collected 392 points and 34 out of a possible 40 first-place votes. Northern Iowa is predicted to finish second with 317 points and four first-place votes, while Missouri State was picked right behind the Panthers in third place with 313 points and the final two first-place votes. Southern Illinois (306), Wichita State (248), Indiana State (199) and Bradley (141) fill out slots four through seven. Completing the final two spots in the poll after ISU is Evansville (109) and Loyola Chicago (52).
NEEDS REPLACING
Illinois State lost its top-three scorers from a year ago, who combined to average 30.5 points per game, which was 52.4 percent of the team's scoring.
RETURNING REDBIRDS
Sophomores Katrina Beck and Viria Livingston are the squad's top-two returning scorers, with Beck averaging 5.9 points and Livingston 5.5 points per game last season. Livingston led the Redbirds on the glass during her freshman campaign with 6.1 rebounds per game, and she is the top-returning distributor from a year ago with 36 assists, and steals leader with 33. She also set the program record for most offensive rebounds by a freshman with 78, which was good enough for the eighth-best tally in single-season history. Beck, meanwhile, looks to improve upon her team-leading 31 triples from a year ago. The duo also returns with the most starting experience from last season, combining for 47 starts. Each student-athlete played in 28 game, with Livingston starting 25 and averaging 29.1 minutes per game, while Beck started 22 contests and averaged 23.6 minutes per game. Senior Taylor Stewart is the most experienced student-athlete in the program, having played in all 90 games, including 30 career starts, with four coming last season. She averaged 5.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 21.2 minutes per game to go along with 35 assists, 27 steals and 26 made three's. Sophomore Millie Stevens (3.2 points, 2.8 rebounds) and senior Brechelle Beachum (3.0 points, 1.6 rebounds, 31 steals) also return and add much-needed depth. Both student-athletes made six starts, while Stevens played in 29 games and Beachum all 30.
NEW FACES
Out of the six incoming freshmen, three hail from the state of Illinois: Frannie Corrigan (LaGrange Park, Ill./Lyons Township), Morgan VanHyfte (Annawan, Ill./Annawan) and Megan Talbot (Barrington, Ill./Barrington). Zakiya Beckles (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex), Deja Turner (Tampa, Fla./Plant) and Amaria Allen (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) are the other incoming freshmen. Junior Hannah Green (Santa Clarita, Calif./West Ranch (College of the Canyons)) is a junior college transfer from the state of California. Green will be a junior and averaged 13.9 points, 13.7 rebounds and 6.5 blocks per game, as she led the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) in blocks per game and ranked third in caroms per game.
ONE OF THE YOUNGEST IN THE NATION
With its roster consisting of six freshmen, three sophomores, one junior and only two seniors, the 2016-17 edition of the Redbirds will be one of the youngest teams in the nation.
REST OF THE NONCONFERENCE
The Redbirds will not have to travel far during the nonconference portion of their schedule, after starting the season at Arizona State. ISU plays its next 10 games in their home state, with six taking place inside Redbird Arena against the likes of Valparaiso, Yale, Eastern Illinois, Wisconsin, Milwaukee and George Mason. The Redbirds will have the luxury of only having to travel to UIC, Northern Illinois, Western Illinois and SIUE.
UP NEXT
The Redbirds' homestand continues this Sunday, Dec. 4, when they welcome Wisconsin to Redbird Arena for the annual PACK THE ARENA game, with tipoff slated for 2 p.m. Fans who attend will be given FREE ADMISSION into the building.
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