Newport, Ky. – Simone Goods added 19 points in 18 minutes of playing time to guide Illinois State women's basketball to its first road win, defeating Northern Kentucky 58-53.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Norse scored a triple on the first possession of the game, but the "Birds quickly took the lead away as Illinois State responded with a 9-0 run. TeTe Maggett added back-to-back layups and finished the first period with a team-high of six points. Redbirds entered the second quarter ahead, 15-9.
Both teams added 10 points in the second, resulting in a halftime score of 25-19. Lexi Wallen made her debut in a Redbird women's basketball uniform and added a layup for ISU with 4:47 on the clock in the second quarter. NKU closed out the half with back-to-back 3-pointers to trail by six at the halftime buzzer.
Northern Kentucky started the third quarter with a quick five points to come within one. Goods responded with two layups in a row to grow the gap. NKU went on to outscore the Redbirds 14-11, but the Redbirds did not give up the lead. Illinois State entered the final period ahead, 36-33.
Kayel Newland added two to the board for the Redbirds with 9:38 in the fourth and was followed by Viria Livingston with her first score of the game. Maggett dished out her fourth assist as she found Livingston for three. Northern Kentucky responded with two and Illinois State led 41-36 with 7:40 to play.
With 1:25 remaining, NKU came within one possession. Newland added one at the charity stripe and Illinois State pushed the lead to 53-49. The Redbird defense held off the Norse on another possession and Lexy Koudelka drove to the basket for two. Koudelka was fouled and completed the 3-point play, sinking one at the free-throw line. The Redbirds remained resilient and finished with a 58-53 road win.
 INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Goods led all scorers with 19 points and added four rebounds. The senior forward has scored in double figures in all but one of ISU's games this season.
- Maggett added 15 points, three rebounds and dished out four assists.
- Livingston is quickly approaching her 500th career rebound, adding a game-high of 10 rebounds in tonight's contest. She now has 479 career rebounds, and is 28 away from entering ISU's top 25 list. The junior guard also added five points and four assists.
- ISU faced difficulty from long range tonight, only scoring one from behind the arc from Livingston.
- ISU welcomed four-year volleyball letterwinner Lexi Wallen to the roster yesterday. Wallen checked into the game and added her first two career points
- The Norse were led by the tandem of Kailey Coffey and Molly Glick with 17 and 11 points, respectively.
QUOTES FROM COACH
On Lexi Wallen: "Lexi went out and got her first collegiate point which is awesome in her first game. Poor kid, I threw her out there and she knows one play."
Fourth Quarter: "I thought we got out tough in the second half. We were playing on our heels defensively. We have been so good in the last couple games, so I'm not sure what our mindset was, but I have to give Northern Kentucky a lot of credit."
UP NEXT
The Illinois State women's basketball team will return to Doug Collins Court after a week hiatus for fall finals on Sunday, Dec. 16 as they take on Maryville University.
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