NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team was outscored 29-12 in the third quarter in a 75-58 loss to Valparaiso on Friday inside Redbird Arena.
The 'Birds had their three-game winning streak snapped, falling to 6-3 overall and 3-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Crusaders jump to 6-5 overall and 2-2 in the MVC behind 21 points from Caitlin Morrison, 18 points from Shay Frederick, and an 11-of-22 (50.0%) effort behind the arc.
Senior Juliunn Redmond put in 20 points for the 'Birds, adding a season-high nine rebounds.
Illinois State was limited to 17-of-59 (28.8%) from the field and 3-of-15 (20.0%) from three-point range.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Crusaders burst out to a 9-2 advantage before a 7-0 Redbird run, including five points from freshman Maya Wong, tied the game at 14 apiece after one quarter.
Illinois State generated its largest lead of the contest at 24-19 with three and a half minutes to play following a lay-up by senior Paige Saylor. A Crusader three-pointer with a minute to go in the first half knotted the game at 27-27 heading into the intermission.
ISU struggled in the third quarter, shooting just 2-of-15 (13.3%) from the floor while Valpo was an impressive 10-of-15 (66.7%), including 5-of-7 (71.4%) from three-point range. The net result was a 29-12 third quarter advantage for the Crusaders.
Valpo carried its momentum into the fourth quarter, taking its largest lead at 61-39 with 8:38 remaining. The 'Birds cut the deficit to 64-52 with two and a half minutes to play but drew no closer before the final horn.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Redmond scored 20 points and added a season-high nine rebounds. She drew seven fouls en route to a 9-of-11 (81.8%) performance at the free throw line.
- Sophomore DeAnna Wilson put in seven points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 19 minutes of action.
- Illinois State edged Valparaiso on the boards, 36-35. The 'Birds hauled in 13 offensive boards for nine second chance points while limiting the Crusaders to three offensive rebounds in 26 chances and no second chance points.
- The teams put on a free throw shooting display combining for a 43-of-53 (81.1%) performance (ISU: 21-of-28 for 75.0%, Valpo: 22-of-25 for 88.0%).
- The Redbirds and Crusaders scored the same amount of points in three of four quarters.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH KRISTEN GILLESPIE
On the loss:
"Both teams were fatigued, both teams went through the same game the night before – we're not making excuses. They came out swinging in the third quarter and I thought they got us on our heels and we never really answered. We had some slip ups in our game plan where we got confused a couple times and they capitalized. We tried to go zone defense but when a team is shooting like that it's really hard. When you give a team 29 points in a quarter, you've really don't have much of a chance to make it up."
UP NEXT
The 'Birds are scheduled to return to action on Thursday, Jan. 21 and Friday, Jan. 22 with a pair of matchups against Evansville at Redbird Arena in the third and fourth games of a five-game homestand. Both games are set for a 4:00 p.m. tip.
For all the 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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