NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team will look to send Colleene Smith, Octavia Crump and Lexie Taylor out as winners, as the Redbirds play their final home game of the 2015-16 season on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena Sunday afternoon. Illinois State hosts Evansville for its Senior Day game at 2 p.m.
Seniors Smith, Crump and Taylor will be honored after the game in an on-court recognition ceremony. The three seniors will then speak at a Senior Comments event in the Legends Room, which is open to the public.
Illinois State (6-20, 4-11 MVC) suffered a 68-55 loss to visiting Southern Illinois Thursday night on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena. Shakeela Fowler scored a team-high 13 points for Illinois State, while Crump and Taylor chipped in 11 and 12 points, respectively. Taylor's 12 points marked a career high.
Illinois State hung with Southern Illinois early in the contest, and cut the Salukis' lead to just three points early in the third quarter, but the visitors answered with a 16-5 run to create separation and later opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run to build its biggest lead of the game.
Evansville (2-23, 1-13) has lost 10-straight games heading into its game at Indiana State Friday night. The Purple Aces' lone conference win this season came on Jan. 10, against Bradley, as the Purple Aces secured a 62-46 home win over Bradley.
Illinois State earned a 64-57 win at Evansville on Jan. 29, and the Redbirds own a 28-17 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools.
Tickets for Thursday's game can be purchased at the Illinois State Ticket Office, by calling (309) 438-8000, or by visiting GoRedbirds.com/tickets. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3, and links for live video, audio and stats can be found at GoRedbirds.com.
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.
