NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team will head to Terre Haute, Ind. to take on the Sycamores in the second week of Missouri Valley Conference play on Thursday, Jan. 7 and Friday, Jan. 8. Both games will be aired on ESPN3 with tip-offs at 5 p.m. CT.
GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State (3-2, 0-2 MVC) at Indiana State (4-3, 1-1 MVC)
When: Thursday, Jan. 7 & Friday, Jan. 8
Tip-Off: 5 p.m. CT
Location: Terre Haute, Ind.
Facility: Hulman Center
Watch: ESPN3
Radio: WJBC AM 1230
Live Stats: GoSycamores.com
NET UPDATE
The first installment of the NCAA NET Report (Jan. 4) has the 'Birds ranked just outside the top-50 at No. 51. They are one of four Valley teams in the top-100: Missouri State (27), Illinois State (51), UNI (72) and Drake (84).
The conference as a whole ranks eighth nationally, sitting behind the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, MAC and Big East.
GETTING NATIONAL
As of Jan. 6, the Redbirds are ranked in the top-30 nationally in both field goal percentage (46.8% - 29th in NCAA, 1st in MVC) and three-point field goal percentage (42.7% - 7th in NCAA, 1st in MVC).
ISU is also rated top-50 in NCAA DI in scoring offense (78.0 – 45th in NCAA, 1st in MVC), scoring margin (18.0 – 32nd in NCAA, 1st in MVC) and blocked shots per game (5.2 – 36th in NCAA, 1st in MVC).
MVC OPENING WEEKEND SERIES
The Redbirds dropped two close games at UNI in the opening weekend of MVC play, despite holding second half leads in each game. It was the first time since 2017-18 Illinois State began Valley action 0-2 and snapped ISU's four-game winning streak against the Panthers.
SCOUTING THE SYCAMORES
Indiana State is coming off a weekend split at Loyola Chicago, winning Friday's conference opener, 63-48, before falling to the Ramblers in Game 2 on Saturday, 59-52.
The Sycamores are led by senior Jamyra McChristine, who is averaging team-highs with 10.1 points and 8.0 rebounds through seven games. Sophomore guard Caitlin Anderson and junior transfer Essy Latu average 10.0 and 9.7 points per game, respectively.
Head coach Vicki Hall is in her third season with the Sycamore program, holding a 17-45 record in that span.
INDIANA STATE - SERIES HISTORY
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Indiana State, 53-45, with the Sycamores owning a 25-17 advantage when playing in Terre Haute. The Redbirds have won three-straight against the Trees, with their last loss coming on Jan. 11, 2019 at the Hulman Center.
LAST MEETING
Led by Lexi Wallen, Illinois State overcame Indiana State, 62-55, on Mar. 7, 2020 in Terre Haute in what ended up being the last game of the 2019-20 season for both teams, with postseason being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wallen had a game-high 18 points, shooting 50% (7-of-14) and just missing a double-double, pulling down nine boards.
Also finishing in double figures was Juliunn Redmond (14 pts, 6 rebs, 3 stls) and TeTe Maggett (13 pts, 7 rebs, 5 asts).
FORMER TEAMMATES
Indiana State's Jasmine McChristine is a former Tallahassee Community College teammate of Illinois State senior Juliunn Redmond. They led that program to back-to-back 25 win seasons for the first time in team history and the NJCAA National Championship in 2018.
LAST TIME OUT
Illinois State gave UNI all it could handle on Saturday afternoon, taking a lead into the final quarter before ultimately falling to the Panthers, 72-67, in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Senior Juliunn Redmond and redshirt sophomore Mary Crompton led ISU with 13 points each. Redmond went 4-of-9 (44.4%) from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe, also adding a team-high seven rebounds. Crompton shot 50% (3-of-6) from distance while wrangling four boards.
Also finishing in double-doubles was junior Terrion Moore and sophomore DeAnna Wilson who each recorded 10 points in the loss.
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.
