NORMAL, Ill. – Off to a 2-0 start in the 2020-21 season, the Illinois State women's basketball team will look to keep the momentum going when they play host to the Omaha Mavericks on Thursday afternoon. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with tip-off set for 2 p.m. CT.
GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State (2-0) vs. Omaha (1-3)
When: Thursday, Dec. 17
Tip-Off: 2 p.m. CT
Location: Normal, Ill.
Facility: Redbird Arena
Watch: ESPN+ ($)
Radio: WJBC AM 1230
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
LAST TIME OUT
The Illinois State women's basketball team improved to 2-0 on the season, rolling past Western Illinois, 85-55, in Macomb on Sunday afternoon.
Redshirt sophomore Mary Crompton and sophomore DeAnna Wilson each had a team-high 14 points in the victory. Crompton, who has led the team in scoring in the first two games, shot 3-of-5 (60%) from deep and 5-of-7 (71.4%) from the charity stripe.
Wilson went 5-of-7 (71.4%) from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line, adding five rebounds and three steals in only 13 minutes on the court in her Redbird debut.
Also finishing in double figures in her first career appearance was redshirt freshman Maya Wong, who tallied 10 points and three assists.
SERIES HISTORY
The Redbirds and Mavericks have only met twice before, both in neutral site games. The first game between the programs took place in Warrensburg, Mo. at the Jennie's Classic in 1979 with the second coming more than 35 years later at the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic in San Antonio, Texas in 2015. Omaha was victorious in both previous meetings with Illinois State.
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
Omaha (1-3) returns all five starters from last year, including 11 letterwinners. The Mavericks were picked to finish ninth in the Summit League Preseason Poll, with junior Mariah Murdie selected to the Preseason All-Summit First Team.
Most recently, UNO fell at Kansas State, 66-59, on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore guard Ella Ogier had a team-high 18 points in the loss with Murdie and junior Josie Filer each contributing 11 points of their own.
Head coach Carrie Banks is in her first season at the helm of the Maverick program. She comes to Omaha from Ohio State where she had been an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the last four seasons.
LIGHTS OUT SHOOTER
Redshirt sophomore Mary Crompton has been outstanding through the first two games, averaging 17.0 points and going 10-of-15 (66.7%) from the field and 9-of-12 (75%) from deep.
The Iowa City, Iowa native is currently ranked nationally in the following categories:
- Three-point field goal percentage: 75.0% (5th in NCAA, 1st in MVC)
- Three-point field goals per game: 4.5 (6th in NCAA, 1st in MVC)
- Field goal percentage: 66.7% (19th in NCAA, 1st in MVC)
CRASHING THE BOARDS
The Redbirds have been dominant on the glass this season, outrebounding each opponent by double digits thus far. ISU's 39.0 defensive rebounds per game currently leads all of NCAA DI, with their +20.5 rebounding margin being ranked third in the NCAA and first in the Missouri Valley Conference.
PLETHORA OF POINTS
ISU's offensive engine is firing on all cylinders this year, as the 'Birds have posted score outputs of 98 and 85 points in their first two wins.
The combined 183 points are the most ever through the first two games of the season. The last time ISU scored at least 183 points in back-to-back games was in Nov. 2008.
The season-opening win vs. Saint Xavier was the first time ISU has scored 90 points since Nov. 2011, recorded 50+ points in a half since Nov. 2012, with the 'Birds finishing with a school record for points in a quarter, closing out the game with 36 points alone in the fourth quarter.
GETTING TO THE LINE
The 35 free throws attempted at Western Illinois on Sunday were the most by any Valley team this season, and also the most since February 2017.
For all the latest on Illinois State women's basketball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team at @RedbirdWBB (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
