NORMAL, Ill. – After trailing by five points at halftime, a 18-2 run to close the third quarter gave the Illinois State women's basketball team the push they needed to get a Missouri Valley Conference win over UNI, 65-57, on Sunday afternoon at Redbird Arena.
Fifth-year senior Lexi Wallen finished with a game-high 20 points, 14 of which came in the second half, while also adding five rebounds.
Senior TeTe Maggett contributed 15 points, also adding four rebounds and four assists. Junior Juliunn Redmond grabbed six boards en route to scoring 14 points.
ISU improves to 12-6 (4-3 MVC) while UNI drops to 11-7 (3-4 MVC) after back-to-back losses this weekend.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first half was a defensive battle, with the first points of the game not coming until the 7:32 mark off a jumper by Wallen. The 'Birds trailed by one at the quarter, with the Panthers extending their lead to five with a halftime score of 30-25.
Maggett tallied nine of her 15 points in the first half, including a step-back three-pointer at the halftime buzzer.
The Redbirds came out firing in the third quarter, outscoring UNI 24-8 in the period and ending the quarter on a 18-2 run, capped off by a buzzer-beating triple by Paige Saylor right in front of ISU's bench. The Panthers never fully-recovered, closing the gap to single-digits in the last 1:32, but never coming within eight points in the final quarter.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Wallen's 20-point performance was the seventh-time this season she has scored at least 20 points in a contest.
- ISU has had three scorers in double figures in 11 of 18 games this season.
- Redshirt freshman Mary Crompton recorded a career-high four steals.
- The Redbirds have now defeated UNI in three-straight meetings.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH KRISTEN GILLESPIE
On the win: "I think we're really starting to see the character of our team. I thought this was the best defensive effort all year. And for this performance to come after an overtime game on Friday was just phenomenal."
UP NEXT
ISU will hit the road to take on Southern Illinois on Friday before matching up with nationally ranked Missouri State 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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