NORMAL, Ill. – Five Illinois State players recorded double-digit scoring en route to a 69-61 victory over the UNI Panthers on the road on Thursday night. Junior Juliunn Redmond was just two assists shy of a triple-double, putting up 13 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and a career-high five steals in the winning effort.
TeTe Maggett (14 pts, 9 rebs), Lexy Koudelka (14 pts, 3 rebs) and Lexi Wallen (14 pts, 3 rebs) all finished with a team-high 14 points. Redshirt freshman Mary Crompton added 11 points, including two three-point field goals.
ISU improves to 15-9 (7-6 MVC) while UNI drops to 15-10 (7-7 MVC). The 'Birds have now won the last four meetings versus the Panthers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Frigid shooting plagued the Panthers in the first half, as UNI shot just 3-of-13 (23.1 percent) in the first quarter and 5-of-22 (22.7 percent) in the second quarter. The Redbirds went into the locker room at halftime with a nine-point, 30-21 lead.
Crompton recorded eight of her 11 points in the first half, with Wallen and Redmond each contributing seven points.
Koudelka paced the Redbirds in the third period, shooting 3-of-3 from the floor and 2-of-3 from the charity stripe to total eight points. Illinois State maintained 44-37 leads heading into the fourth quarter.
An 11-1 run to start the fourth quarter closed the gap on the scoreboard, with UNI taking their first lead since the initial minutes of the game with 7:21 remaining. The 'Birds battled back, tying the game four times in the final six minutes but never taking the lead again in regulation. The key moment came with only four seconds left and the 'Birds down three, as Maggett stepped back and drained a contested triple to tie the game and force an overtime period.
UNI's shooting went cold again in overtime, as the Panthers were only 1-of-4 (25 percent) in the final five minutes of play. Illinois State outscored UNI, 12-4, in the overtime period to secure the victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Crompton's two triples in today's game improves her to 53 three-pointers on the year, setting a new freshman record for three-point field goals in a season. The previous record of 52 was held by Kristi Cirone (2005-06).
- Redmond has now recorded four consecutive double-doubles and five total during the 2019-20 campaign, all occurring in MVC play.
- Redmond's career-high five steals were the most of any Redbird in a game this season.
- The last time ISU had at least five players in double figures was Feb. 5, 2016, when the Redbirds defeated Indiana State, 73-62, at Redbird Arena.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH KRISTEN GILLESPIE
On the overcoming UNI's late lead: "Both teams didn't shoot outstanding, but we went in at halftime and talked about how they were bound to make a comeback. We were able to handle their buzz and make plays down the stretch when we needed to."
On the team's composure in overtime: "I felt very similar to Friday when we got down – that we were OK and that we were going to get this back. I think last Friday's game helped give us confidence and we weren't shaken."
On TeTe's three-pointer to force overtime: "That's a big-time shot. When the game's on the line, the ball is going to be in her hands. Win or lose."
UP NEXT
Illinois State travels to Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday to take on Drake at 2 p.m.
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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