NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team captured their fifth-straight win on Wednesday evening, defeating Western Illinois, 78-65, at Redbird Arena.
The 'Birds were led by senior TeTe Maggett, who recorded a career-high 33 points while adding seven rebounds and five assists. Her teammate and fellow senior, Lexi Wallen, nearly posted a double-double, piling on 22 points and nine rebounds of her own for her second 20+ point scoring effort in as many games.
ISU improves to 6-1 on the year while Western Illinois drops to 4-5 during the 2019-20 campaign.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Leathernecks took a 25-14 lead in the first quarter, shooting 57.1% from the field and going a tremendous 5-of-7 (71.4%) from behind the arc. Wallen paced the Redbirds in that first period, recording 10 of Illinois State's 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
The momentum switched in the second quarter, as the 'Birds outscored WIU, 20-8, to take a one-point lead into halftime. Senior Megan Talbot was fouled on a made-layup with 36 seconds to go in the period, drained the free throw and converted the three-point play to give ISU the lead. The Redbirds never relinquished the lead from that point on, after having comeback from the 15-point deficit in the first quarter.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Maggett and Wallen have both tallied double-digit scoring in every game this season, averaging 19.3 and 17.0 points per game, respectively. They have combined for 52.4 percent of Illinois State's total scoring during the 2019-20 campaign.
- After allowing the Leathernecks to make five three-pointers in the first quarter, the Redbirds held them to only two for the remainder of the game, as WIU finished shooting 7-of-23 from deep.
- The Redbirds collectively pulled down 50 rebounds as a team, a season-best. Illinois State has out-rebounded 5-of-7 opponents they have played this season.
- ISU recorded 19 points off second chances and grabbed 20 offensive boards.
- The last time a Redbird scored at least 30 points was during the 2018-19 season when Simone Goods tallied 30 points at Valparaiso (Feb. 3).
- Freshman Hannah Kelle scored her first career basket in tonight's victory and finished with four points.
QUOTES FROM COACH KRISTEN GILLESPIE
On Western Illinois: "You have to give Western Illinois a ton of credit. They came in and threw the first punch and were the aggressors, something we want to be and always talk about. They had us on our heels, and we did a poor job of defending the three-point line in the first quarter, which carried over into our offense. But I think we eventually settled in and did a really good job defending from that point on."
On the victory: "I'm just really proud. Proud of our resilience, our grit. This team has been through some adversity in games, but we never hang our heads or get down – we regroup and refocus, and because of that, positive things happen."
UP NEXT
ISU will take a road trip to Saint Louis this weekend, taking on the Billikens at 2 p.m. at Chaifetz Arena on Sunday.
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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