Redbirds Host Bradley to Open Valley Play

NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team will host Bradley on New Year's Eve to open Valley conference play.

GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (6-5) vs. Bradley University Braves (6-5)

When: Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017

Tip-Off: 11 a.m. CT
Location: Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena

THE SERIES

• The Redbirds hold a 47-24 record over the Bradley Braves.

• The teams most recently met in March of 2017 at the Renaissance Coliseum and Bradley captured a 70-59 victory.  

• This is the first time Coach Gillespie and Coach Gorski will meet.

• The Redbirds are 25-9 when facing Bradley at home.

REDBIRD BITS

• Illinois State enters conference play with a 6-5 record after capturing two-straight wins at the Beach Classic Tournament.

• The Redbirds brought home some hardware for the holidays after they defeated Northeastern in the championship game of the Beach Classic. Hannah Green was named to the All-Tournament team and Simone Goods was named as the tournament MVP.

• Goods earned MVC Newcomer of the Week honors after her performance last week. The junior forward racked up 41 points and 19 rebounds.

• The Redbirds have committed less than 10 turnovers in two out of the last three games. The last time they committed less than 10 turnovers in a game was at Wisconsin on Nov. 16, 2014.

• Paige Saylor continues to frustrate her opponents, averaging 2.5 steals per game. Saylor leads the MVC in steals per game and has a season and career high of 7 steals in a game.

•Green has proven to be a defensive threat this season, blocking 2.0 shots per game. She currently leads the MVC and has a season high of five blocks in a game and a career high of eight blocks in a game. Last season, Green claimed a spot in the ISU record books, as she is first all-time in blocked shots per game (2.9) and second all-time for blocked shots in a season (75).

 SCOUTING THE BRAVES

• Bradley holds the best non-conference record since the 2012-13 season after they finished 6-5.

• The team enters the game coming off of an 87-80 win over Western Illinois. The Braves overcame an 18-point deficit, which was the largest comeback victory since 2013.

• Freshman Gabi Haack led her team in scoring efforts on Thursday, with a season best of 26 points. Haack tied the Bradley single-game record as she netted eight three-pointers.

• The Braves lead the MVC in two rebounding categories, including rebounding offense (43.0 Avg. /G) and defensive rebounds (30.0 Avg./G).

• Chelsea Brackman captured a double-double in Thursday's game with 20 points and 12 rebounds. She leads the Braves, averaging 7.7 rebounds per game.

• Junior Vanessa Markert leads the Braves in scoring, averaging 8.6 points per game and has a season high of 24 points in a game.

BATTLE FOR ILLINOIS

Four in-state university basketball programs have the opportunity to earn bragging rights to a new trophy as the "Battle for Illinois" rivalry series was introduced by the respective athletic departments for Bradley, Illinois State, Loyola and Southern Illinois.  Both men's and women's basketball teams for the four universities will accrue points in featured head-to-head competition only. One point will be earned for each win. In the event of a tie, the following will determine the Battle for Illinois winner: 1) Head-to-head record among the tied schools; 2) regular-season conference record; 3) overall regular-season record (conference and non-conference); 4) combined tournament wins; 5) average margin of victory (rivalry series games).

MILESTONE WATCH

• Hannah Green has a career total of 97 blocks, which is third most in ISU history. Nicole Lewis leads with 260, followed by Leslie Ferrell with 177.

DEFENSIVE STRENGTH      

The Redbirds lead the MVC and are ranked 12^th in the nation for their defensive efforts, holding their opponents to 53.8 points per game. They are ranked 8^th in the nation for opponent field goal percentage, with their opponents averaging 33.0 percent from the field.

NEXT UP

The Redbirds begin a two-game road swing on Friday as they travel to take on Valparaiso at 7 p.m. CT and head to the windy city to face Loyola on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.