GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Sophomore Lexy Koudelka led the Redbirds with a career high 21 points in Illinois State's 66-58 win over the North Dakota Fighting Hawks on Sunday afternoon.
The 'Birds improved to 4-1 on the season while UND dropped to 4-2. The 4-1 start is the best start for the Redbirds in 12 years (since the 2007-08 season).
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a slow start with neither team scoring for almost the first three minutes of play, the 'Birds and the Hawks battled back and forth, taking a 7-7 score into the first media timeout. Illinois State's offense exploded, going on a 13-2 run to finish the quarter and solidify their lead. ISU led for the remainder of the game, extending the lead to 17 points in the third quarter.
The Hawks mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter, going on a 12-0 run and narrowing the gap to two points at one point, but the 'Birds never relinquished the lead.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Koudelka posted a career and season-high 21 points in the victory, shooting 7-of-10 from the field and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.
- Seniors TeTe Maggett and Lexi Wallen recorded double-digit performances for the fifth game this season, tallying 12 and 10 points, respectively. Wallen was 4-of-6 in shooting on the day and two of Maggett's field goals were three-pointers.
- Redshirt freshman Mary Crompton hit a season-high three triples, shooting 3-of-7 from behind the arc. The trio of three-pointers also matches her career-best which occurred in last year's Nov. 14 win over UND.
- This is the third game this season the 'Birds held their opponent to under 60 points. It is also the second-time this year that Illinois State held their opponent to exactly 58 points.
- The 'Birds outscored the Hawks 28-12 in points in the paint and 13-2 in second chance points.
QUOTES FROM COACH KRISTEN GILLESPIE
On North Dakota: "I'm really proud of our effort today – that was a tough place to play and North Dakota is a really good team. We accomplished our two goals for today's game which were to keep them off the foul line, which we did an excellent job with and only allowed six free throws, and to win the battle of the boards."
On Koudelka's performance: "Our staff and the players in practice are not surprised, we see her talent all the time. She came in and made the most of her minutes when it mattered the most. The great thing about her performance – it was against two really good post players, one of which was 6'5. I'm hoping this will springboard her confidence in future games."
UP NEXT
ISU returns home to host UT-Martin at Redbird Arena at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 30.
For all latest on Illinois State women's basketball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team at @RedbirdWBB (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).
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