NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team will close out the regular season as they travel to nationally ranked Drake and to UNI this weekend.
GAME INFORMATION VS. DRAKE
Illinois State Redbirds (17-10, 10-6) vs. No. 22 Drake Bulldogs (23-5, 15-1)
When: Thursday, March 7
Tip-Off: 6 p.m. CT
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: 1230 AM
THE SERIES VS. DRAKE
• The Redbirds are 35-44 overall against the Bulldogs, owning a 21-17 edge at home, 13-23 record at Drake and are 1-4 at a neutral site.
• The teams most recently met on Sunday, Jan. 6 in Redbird Arena, where Drake captured an 82-64 win.
• Coach Gillespie has previously met Coach Baranczyk in 2002 at the LMU Thanksgiving Classic in Los Angeles, California. Gillespie was working as a graduate assistant under the direction of legendary, Kay Yow at NC State and Coach Baranczyk was playing for the Iowa Hawkeyes. NC State defeated Baranczyk and the Hawkeyes 69-66 in overtime on Nov. 29, 2002. This will be the fourth meeting between the two as head coaches.
REDBIRD BITS
• Illinois State enters the contest, having won seven of their eight previous games and are on a two-game win streak, after downing Loyola Chicago and Valparaiso last weekend in Redbird Arena.
• Katrina Beck went out in style this weekend, notching a new career high on Friday and contributing another double figure game on Sunday. The senior guard made 6-of-11 from the floor and was 7-for-8 at the charity stripe on Friday, tallying a game-high of 21 points, and added 14 points in Sunday's contest.
• Simone Goods secured her 11th career double-double in win over Loyola Chicago, marking herself in the ISU record books at 14th all-time. With one more double-double showing, she would tie and finish top 10 in ISU history with just two seasons as a Redbird. Goods also set a new career high Friday night, grabbing 15 rebounds, and is the first player to do so since 2014 (Octavia Crump vs. Bradley).
• The Redbirds have consistently led the league in scoring defense (60.8) and field-goal percent defense (38.0) for the second straight season and sit top 100 in the nation for both categories.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
• Drake was the favorite in the MVC preseason poll with 35 of the 40 first-place votes and 363 total points, and currently sit first in MVC rankings with a 15-1 conference record.
• The Bulldogs have appeared five times in Associated Press' women's college basketball poll this season, standing as high as 21st on Dec. 3 and are currently tied for 22nd with Florida State.
• The team is led by Becca Hittner (19.7 ppg) and Sara Rhine (18.8 ppg). The duo accounts for 48 percent of Drake's scoring.
• The Bulldogs lead the Valley in scoring offense and are ninth nationally, averaging 80.3 points per game and first in the league and 11th in the country for field goal percentage (47.4).
GAME INFORMATION VS. UNI
Illinois State Redbirds (17-10, 10-6) vs. UNI Panthers (18-10, 11-5)
When: Saturday, March 9
Tip-Off: 2p.m.CT
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: 1230 AM
THE SERIES VS. UNI
• The Redbirds have a 41-36 edge over the Panthers, with a 24-14 record at home, 16-19 at UNI and 1-3 at a neutral site.
• The teams met in Redbird Arena earlier this season and ISU got away with a narrow 66-64 win over the Panthers.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
• The Panthers are led by Karli Rucker (14.6 ppg) and Ellie Howell (10.6 ppg), however Howell has missed the previous seven games due to injury.
• The Panthers are 10-2 on their home court this season, and finished the non-conference slate undefeated in the McLeod Center for the first time since 1999.
• UNI sits top 100 in the nation for three-point attempts and three-pointers made. The Panthers have shot 680 threes, hitting on 213 shots and accounting for 639 of UNI's 1,881 points this season.
NEXT UP
The Redbirds head to the Quad Cities next weekend for the Hoops in the Heartland Tournament. The Redbirds will be playing on Friday, but time will not be determined until after Saturday's contests are complete.
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