Regular Season Finale Set For Saturday At Missouri State

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Back-to-back wins have been tough to come by for the Illinois State women's basketball team this season, but the Redbirds (8-20, 5-12 MVC) are on a two-game winning streak as they head to Springfield, Missouri, to face Missouri State in the regular season finale on Saturday at JQH Arena.

The Redbirds overcame a seven-point halftime deficit Thursday night against Wichita State and outscored the Shockers 31-20 in the second half to come from behind for a key 53-49 conference road victory at Koch Arena.  The win was the second in a row for the 'Birds, who secured the No. 7 seed and a meeting against Evansville in the first round of the 2016 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament next weekend.

Senior Octavia Crump led the charge for the Redbirds and just missed out on her second double-double of the season, as she scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the victory for ISU.  The 20-point effort was Crump's second in a row, fifth of the season and 10th in her career at Illinois State.  Freshman point guard Shakeela Fowler scored 11 of her 17 points in the second half to spark the Redbirds as well and added five rebounds and three assists while facilitating the ISU offensive attack.

Missouri State (20-9, 13-4) is in a tie for second place in the conference standings and the Bears are 38-31 all-time against Illinois State, including a 20-12 mark in games played in Springfield, Missouri. The Bears won an earlier matchup this season, 73-51, in Normal, Illinois. 

The Bears' defense had its best showing of the season, holding Indiana State to 25 percent shooting in a 75-41 victory Thursday night. The Sycamores' point total and shooting percentage were season lows for an MSU opponent, while the 34-point margin of victory was the team's largest since a 41-point win at Wichita State in 2005. Missouri State led by as many as 37 points in the third quarter, finishing the game with 26 points off 24 ISU turnovers. 

Tyonna Snow led a group of four double-figure scorers with 17 points, followed by Liza Fruendt (13), Kenzie Williams (12) and Lexi Hughes (11). Snow ranks third in the MVC in scoring, averaging 16.5 points per game, is also the top thief in the Valley, averaging 3.3 steals per game. The Bears offense is second to Drake in points per game with an average of 70.7 per contest.

Saturday's game will be streamed live on ESPN3 at 2 p.m., 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.

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