NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team is set to host I-74 rival Bradley at Redbird Arena on Wednesday. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with tip-off set for 6 p.m.
GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State (8-3, 5-3 MVC) vs. Bradley (10-5, 6-2 MVC)
When: Wednesday, Jan. 27
Tip-Off: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Normal, Ill.
Facility: Redbird Arena
Watch: ESPN+
Radio: WJBC AM 1230
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
2-0 OVER EVANSVILLE
The Redbirds picked up a pair of Valley victories over Evansville last week, beating the Purple Aces 73-48 on Thursday evening before UE forfeited Friday's rematch.
Redshirt sophomore Mary Crompton led the scoring efforts for the seventh time this year on Thursday, putting up a game-high 14 points. Sophomore DeAnna Wilson posted her first career double-double, netting 12 points and grabbing 13 boards in just 17 minutes of action. Senior Juliunn Redmond also scored in double figures, recording 11 points while shooting 4-of-8 from the floor.
ISU had just eight turnovers in Thursday's win, the least amount of turnovers committed in a game for the program since December 2018.
NCAA NET UPDATE
The latest installment of the NCAA NET Report (Jan. 25) has five Valley teams that rank in the top-100, including four in the Top 75. Missouri State leads the way at No. 23 with Drake (56), UNI (67), Illinois State (72) and Bradley (86), rounding out the schools in the Top 100.
The Valley joins the ACC, Big 12, BIG EAST, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC as the only leagues nationally with five teams in the NET Top 100.
BALANCED 'BIRDS
Illinois State is currently one of only five teams in the country to have six different players lead them in these six statistics categories: points (Juliunn Redmond, 14.1), rebounds (DeAnna Wilson, 6.1), assists (Paige Saylor, 2.8), steals (Terrion Moore, 1.9), blocks (Kate Bullman, 1.1) and three-pointers (Mary Crompton, 2.9).
Other programs to accomplish this include Arkansas, Butler, Coastal Carolina and Oklahoma.
SCOUTING THE BRAVES
Bradley is currently 6-2 in MVC play, with their two conference losses coming at Drake on Valley opening weekend and last week to Loyola Chicago. The Braves split the series with the Ramblers, dropping Friday's contest, 71-66, before recovering on Saturday to record a 57-55 victory at home.
The duo of Lasha Petree and Gabi Haack lead the way for Bradley and the Valley, averaging 19.7 and 16.5 points per game, respectively, to rank No. 1 and No. 2 in scoring on the year.
Haack, who averages a team-high 7.3 boards per contest, also ranks second in the MVC only to ISU's Mary Crompton in three-point field goal percentage (43.4%) and triples made per game (2.9).
Head coach Andrea Gorski (77-59) is in her fifth season at the helm of the women's basketball program.
BRADLEY - SERIES HISTORY
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Bradley, 49-29, and holds a 25-12 advantage when playing in Normal.
The Braves have swept the Redbirds in Valley play the last two seasons, with ISU's last win over BU coming in a 61-55 victory at Moline on March 15, 2019.
LAST MEETING
Despite a pair of double-double performances by Juliunn Redmond and Lexi Wallen, the 'Birds fell to Bradley, 66-62, on Feb. 7, 2020 at Redbird Arena. Redmond led the team in scoring with 18 points, also matching her career-high of 11 rebounds. Wallen had 17 points for the 'Birds, pulling down 10 boards.
TeTe Maggett and Paige Saylor also scored in double figures, posting 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Lasha Petree had a game-high 22 points in the Bradley victory, with Nyjah White adding 17 points and eight rebounds.
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.
