NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team head to Indiana this weekend for a pair of MVC games, beginning with a battle against the Evansville Aces.
GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State Redbirds (7-9, 1-4) vs. Evansville Aces (3-13, 0-5)
When: Friday, January 19
Tip-Off: 7p.m.CT
THE SERIES
• The Redbirds are 30-19 overall when facing the Aces. The Birds are 13-10 at home, 17-6 at Evansville and 0-3 at a neutral site.
• The teams most recently met on Feb. 26, 2017 at Evansville and the Redbirds fell 60-56.
• This is the first time Coach Gillespie and Coach Ruffing will meet.
REDBIRD BITS
• Illinois State prevailed over the Southern Illinois Salukis on Sunday, capturing a 49-46 victory. Megan Talbot led the Redbirds with her first career double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds.
• With five games into MVC play, the Redbirds are holding their opponents to an average of 7.08 points less than their season scoring average.
• Viria Livingston captured her first career double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds against
Valparaiso. Livingston is ranked seventh in the MVC, averaging 6.3 rebounds per game and also ads 6.8 points per game.
• Freshman point guard Paige Saylor was a key component to the Redbird success this past weekend. She shot 64 percent from the field securing a new career high of 15 points in a game and went 4-for-5 behind the arc. Saylor netted the game-turning 3-pointer on Sunday that put the Birds in the lead and the team never looked back.
• Green Goods and Katrina Beck have each had noteworthy performances this season, earning them MVC Player of the Week Honors.
• Megan Talbot, Livingston and Green are all in the top ten of the MVC for rebounding.
SCOUTING THE ACES
• Evansville is currently on pace to become the first team across all NCAA men's and women's basketball divisions to shoot 84% or better from the free throw line in a season as the Aces lead the nation in free throw shooting percentage, averaging 83.9 percent.
• The Aces were tabbed eighth in the MVC preseason poll, one spot behind the Redbirds.
• Hannah Noe is a huge scoring threat behind the arc, leading the MVC in 3-point shots and 3-point field goal percentage. The Graduate student averages 3.0 3-point field goals per game, shooting 36 percent. Noe is the lead scorer for the Aces, averaging 15.1 points per game.
• Junior guard Kerri Gasper tallied just 52 assists all last season and has already surpassed that total this year with 59 through 13 games. Gasper is tied second in the Valley, averaging 4.1 assists per game.
DEFENSIVE STRENGTH
The Redbirds lead the MVC are ranked sixth in the country for field goal percentage defense, holding their opponents to an average of 34.2 percent. They are also first in conference and tabbed seventh in scoring defense in the nation, allowing 54.6 points per game.
NEXT UP
The Redbirds finish the two-game road swing in Terra Haute, Indiana to face the Indiana State Sycamores on Sunday.
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