ST. LOUIS – The Illinois State women's basketball team fell to Saint Louis, 61-56, in a back-and-forth heartbreaker on Sunday at Chaifetz Arena. The game featured five different lead changes and four ties, with the 'Birds leading as late as with 4:21 remaining in the fourth.
Junior Juliunn Redmond led all scoring with a career-high 23 points, going 9-of-14 from the field. Senior Lexi Wallen added nine points and four rebounds, with Lexy Koudelka and Paige Saylor each adding seven points of their own. Koudelka also had a team-high six rebounds.
The Redbirds drop to 6-2 on the season while the Billikens improve to 7-3.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The 'Birds jumped out to a 6-2 start, thanks to field goals by Wallen, TeTe Maggett and Megan Talbot. Saint Louis responded, going on an 8-0 run to grab the lead for the remainder of the half. The Billikens outrebounded ISU, 17-14, in the first half and took a 29-21 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Illinois State narrowed the Billiken-lead to three points in the third quarter, outscoring them 21-16. Redmond went an efficient 4-of-5 from the floor in the third period to total nine points and help change the momentum. Redshirt freshman Mary Crompton and Saylor each stepped up to sink a three-pointer as well.
With a little under nine minutes left in the game, Redmond drained a triple from the corner to tie it up at 45-all. Saylor tallied a layup on the next trip down the court to give the 'Birds their first lead since the first quarter. ISU and SLU exchanged leads for the next several minutes until a three-pointer by Ciaja Harbison put the Billikens up by three with 1:31 left to play. The Redbirds could not close the three-point gap for the remainder of the game.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- 16 of Redmond's career-high 23 points came during the Redbirds' second half charge.
- This was the first game of the season that ISU did not have at least two players score in double figures.
- The 'Birds outrebounded their opponent for the sixth time this year, besting the Billikens, 34-32, on the boards.
- Wallen drained a three-point basket with 2:00 left in the fourth quarter to tie the game on her first attempt from behind the arc of the season.
QUOTES FROM COACH KRISTEN GILLESPIE
On Saint Louis: "We lost the game in the first half. I'll take some of the blame because it was clear that we didn't prepare them enough for the Billikens' physicality. They came out swinging and we had a good start with our first six points, but our offense went stagnant and we need to do better going forward"
On the second half: "I thought we gave a tremendous fight down the stretch. We got good looks that just didn't fall those last couple minutes. It's tough – this is a game that will bother us for some time because it was a winnable game."
UP NEXT
ISU returns home to host SIUE at 11 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 16 for the first of two Education Days.
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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