NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team made history Thursday night, upsetting No. 17/21 Missouri State at Redbird Arena for ISU's first win over a ranked opponent in 28 years. The Redbirds (16-10, 8-7 MVC) snapped the Lady Bears' (23-4, 13-2 MVC) nine-game winning streak to hand them only their second conference loss of the year.
Illinois State's last win over a ranked opponent occurred on Jan. 9, 1992, as the Redbirds defeated No. 20 Southwest Missouri State, 79-73, in Normal, Illinois.
Senior TeTe Maggett led all scorers with 24 points, hitting 3-of-3 three-point field goals in the fourth quarter to help lift the 'Birds to the victory. Maggett also recorded game-highs in rebounds (eight) and assists (six).
Lexi Wallen contributed 18 points, shooting 60.0 percent (6-of-10) from the floor, while also grabbing six boards. Junior Paige Saylor and redshirt freshman Mary Crompton both added nine points in the winning effort.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lady Bears led, 19-17, after a back-and-forth first quarter that saw Wallen score eight of her 18 total points.
The Redbirds then took over, outscoring MSU, 20-5, in the second period and holding the Lady Bears to just two field goals and a free throw behind dominant defense. ISU shot 72.7 percent (8-of-11) from the field in the second quarter in contrast to Missouri State's 16.7 (2-of-12) second quarter field goal percentage, taking a 13-point lead into halftime with a score line of 37-24.
Missouri State would not go down easily, opening up the third quarter on a 13-4 run and erasing the deficit to a single point at the 5:25 mark with a pair of free throws by Brice Calip. The 'Birds held strong, never relinquishing the lead for the remainder of the quarter or the game.
ISU's hot-shooting returned in the fourth quarter, as the team shot 72.7 percent (8-of-11) from the floor with Maggett collecting 17 of her 24 points in the final period, including shooting 80.0 pecent (8-of-10) from the free throw line. Maggett (3-of-4) and Crompton (3-of-4) combined to shoot a perfect 5-of-5 from behind the arc in the final quarter to cap off the upset victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- ISU moves to 13-3 on the season when outrebounding their opponent. They are only the third team this season to outrebound the Lady Bears.
- The Redbirds have won two of the last three meetings with the Lady Bears.
- Maggett has led the team in assists in 18 of her 24 games played this season. It was the eighth time she led the team in rebounds on the year.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH KRISTEN GILLESPIE
On beating a ranked opponent: "I could not be more proud of that group in the locker room. All week we talked about making history and doing something that hadn't been done in 28 years. All week we believed we were going to win – our players believed it, our staff believed it. And we executed our game plan pretty well, minus a couple minutes in the third quarter. There was never a doubt and our kids believed and bought in to the game plan. I'm just so happy for them."
UP NEXT
The Redbirds host the Southern Illinois Salukis for Senior Day on Sunday at 2 p.m. ISU's four seniors, Frannie Corrigan, TeTe Maggett, Megan Talbot and Lexi Wallen, will all be honored in a pregame ceremony, prior to tip-off.
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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