NORMAL, Ill. – Seniors Lexi Wallen and TeTe Maggett paved the way for the Redbirds, as Illinois State held on for a 69-66 win over Northern Illinois at Redbird Arena on Wednesday evening. It was the second consecutive game Wallen led the Redbirds in scoring as she posted a team-high 18 points. Maggett recorded the second double-double of her career, collecting 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Illinois State improves to 3-1 on the season while the Huskies fall to 2-2.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The 'Birds jumped out to a 9-0 lead through the first 2:50 of play, behind layups from Megan Talbot and Paige Saylor, and a pair of jumpers and a free throw by Wallen, for five of her 11 first half points. Illinois State would never relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game, though they allowed the Huskies to tie the game briefly at 58-58 with 1:57 to go in the fourth quarter. ISU sank 6-of-8 free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the Redbird victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Maggett's double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds) was the second of her career and a first for the Redbirds since Simone Goods (18 points, 10 rebounds) did so last season at UNI on March 9, 2019.
- Maggett and Wallen have reached double-digit scoring in all four games of the 2019-20 season.
- All nine of redshirt freshman Mary Crompton's points came in the fourth quarter, six of which came from back-to-back triples.
- Crompton, Maggett, and Kayel Newland each drained a pair of three-pointers in tonight's victory. The team's seven triples were a season-high.
- Illinois State scored 28 of their 69 points in the paint (41%).
- The Redbirds are off to their best start (3-1) since the 2010-11 season. That team went 24-11 under head coach Stephanie Glance, including a postseason WNIT run that ended in the semifinals.
QUOTES FROM COACH KRISTEN GILLESPIE
On Northern Illinois: "I thought it was a really hard-fought win. You've got to give Northern Illinois a ton of credit – they have a lot of shot makers and play makers. We knew it was going to be a grind-out game."
On the Huskies' almost comeback: "I thought we got out to a great start and then we kind of let up a little bit. I promise we do footwork everyday in practice and I know it did not look like it with our 17 turnovers in the first half – I did think we responded well though with only five [turnovers] in the second. We did enough, and sometimes that's what it takes. We made our free throws down the stretch and we're lucky to get out of here with a win."
UP NEXT
ISU heads to North Dakota to take on the Fighting Hawks on Sunday. Tip-off in Grand Forks is set for 2 p.m.
For all latest on Illinois State women's basketball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team at @RedbirdWBB (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
