NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team returned in impressive fashion on Sunday, downing Saint Xavier, 98-53, in their 2020-21 season opener at Redbird Arena. The Redbirds have now won their home opener in every season under head coach Kristen Gillespie.
Redshirt sophomore Mary Crompton had a career and game-high 20 points, shooting 70.0% (7-of-10) from the field and 85.7% (6-of-7) from behind the arc.
Senior Paige Saylor recorded her first career double-double, recording 11 points and a career-high 10 assists.
Senior Juliunn Redmond and junior Terrion Moore rounded out the list of double-digit scorers for the Redbirds, each finishing with 16 points. Redmond also added six assists and four rebounds with Moore tallying 14 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter, going 5-of-5 in that span.
The Cougars were led by junior Maia Fawcett who posted a team-high 13 points and junior Claire Austin who wrangled a game-high 12 boards.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Redbirds scored first and never looked back, as Saint Xavier never led in Sunday's contest. After allowing 20 points on 40.9% (9-of-22) shooting in the first 10 minutes of play, ISU buckled down on defense and stifled the Cougars to 27.6% (13-of-47) shooting the rest of the way. The 'Birds ended the first half on a 12-1 run to take a 40-26 lead into halftime.
ISU continued to pull away in the second half, ending the third period on a 17-1 run before shooting 73.3% (11-of-15) from the floor in the fourth quarter, including 62.5% (5-of-8) from the three-point line. The Redbirds did not allow a made field goal by the Cougars during a stretch of nearly eight minutes between the third and fourth quarters.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Saylor's 10 assists are the most recorded in a game by a Redbird since Amanda Clifton's 10-assist performance versus Missouri State on Feb. 12, 2011.
- The last time ISU scored 90+ points was also in 2011 when the 'Birds defeated UMSL, 92-52, at home.
- Three Redbirds made their debut on Sunday: freshmen Kate Bullman and Jasmine McGinnis-Taylor and junior Terrion Moore.
- Bullman led the team in rebounds (nine) and blocks (three), also adding eight points in her Redbird debut.
- Crompton's six made three-point field goals tie her career-best, recorded on two occasions last season (2/2/20 at Missouri State and 2/22/20 at Drake).
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH KRISTEN GILLESPIE
On the delayed start to the season: "I'm just so happy our team got the opportunity to compete today. Tomorrow would have been nine months since we last played at Indiana State."
On the opponent: "You've got to give a ton of credit to Saint Xavier – they're a very well-coached and scrappy group. They had us on our heels in the beginning and you could tell we were a little out of shape and rusty."
UP NEXT
Illinois State is scheduled to travel to Western Illinois on Sunday, Dec. 13 to take on the Leathernecks at 2 p.m. That game will be streamed on GoLeathernecks.com as a part of the Leatherneck All-Access subscription.
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.
