NORMAL, Ill. – Redshirt sophomore Mary Crompton put in 16 points but the Illinois State women's basketball team fell 69-52 to No. 23/25 Missouri State on Friday inside Redbird Arena.
Senior Juliunn Redmond scored 14 points for the Redbirds (10-5 overall, 7-5 MVC).
Missouri State (12-2 overall, 8-0 MVC) was led by 16 points from Jasmine Franklin.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Missouri State raced out to a 24-9 lead after the first period but the Redbirds clawed back to within eight at 28-20 with 3:46 to play in the half.
The Lady Bears used a 9-2 spurt to put the score at 37-22 at the intermission.
Illinois State fought back to cut the MSU lead to eight points on two occasions in the third quarter, closing the period down, 49-40.
Missouri State came out firing in the fourth quarter, eventually building its largest lead at 69-50 before a pair of Redbird free throws put the final at 69-52.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Crompton was 4-of-7 from behind the arc, her fourth game with 4+ made three-pointers this season and 10th in her career.
- Sophomore DeAnna Wilson drew six fouls, en route to a nine-point performance, going 7-of-8 (87.5%) at the free throw line.
- Junior Terrion Moore recorded a season-high eight rebounds to go with seven points and season-high two blocked shots.
QUOTE FROM HEAD COACH KRISTEN GILLESPIE
On the opponent: "Missouri State showed today why they are a top-25 team and why they're at the top in the Valley. They're tough and really good at every spot. They have a great bench and we have nothing but the utmost respect."
On the opening minutes of play: "The game was lost in the first quarter. That's the tough thing when you get down to that type of deficit against a team like this it's really hard to dig yourself out of the hole. If you look at the rest of the game, we were right there. It's a two-possession game if you take out the first quarter. I was proud because we could've given up and we didn't. The beauty of this is that we get another shot at them tomorrow."
UP NEXT
The 'Birds and Lady Bears are scheduled to face off again on Saturday at 4 p.m CT inside Redbird Arena. The game will be streamed on ESPN3.
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.
