NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team will hit the road this weekend for a Friday/Saturday series with the Southern Illinois Salukis. Tip-off at the Banterra Center is set for 4 p.m. on both days with streaming available on ESPN3.
GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State (9-3, 6-3 MVC) vs. Southern Illinois (5-7, 2-5 MVC)
When: Friday, Feb. 5/Saturday, Feb. 6
Tip-Off: 4 p.m. CT
Location: Carbondale, Ill.
Facility: Banterra Center
Watch: ESPN3
Radio: WJBC AM 1230/93.7 FM
Live Stats: SIDEARM Stats
AT THE HALFWAY POINT
With six of 10 Valley teams hitting the midway point of the conference season last week, Illinois State is currently in a three-way tie for third place with Bradley and Drake at 6-3.
The Redbirds sit at 6-3 at the halfway mark in MVC play for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
NCAA NET UPDATE
The latest installment of the NCAA NET Report (Feb. 1) has five Valley teams that rank in the top-100, including four in the Top 75. Missouri State leads the way at No. 27 with Drake (51), Illinois State (70), UNI (71) and Bradley (89), 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.
Starting with the 2020-21 season, the NCAA Women's Basketball Committee will use NET as a guide in selected the at-large field and seeding for the NCAA Tournament, replacing the Rating Percentage Index (RPI) system in place since 1984. NET ranking is determined by who you played, where you played, how efficiently you played and the result of the game, primarily driven by Adjusted Net Efficiency and Team Value Index.
BIG WIN OVER BRADLEY
Juliunn Redmond and Terrion Moore each poured in 20 points to lead the Redbirds past the Braves, 66-54, on Wednesday at Redbird Arena.
Redmond pulled down a season-high 13 rebounds for her sixth career double-double while Moore was primarily responsible for holding Missouri Valley Conference leading scorer Lasha Petree to just 3-of-18 (16.7%) shooting. Sophomore DeAnna Wilson added 14 points and six boards for the 'Birds.
ISU limited Bradley to 18-of-62 (29.0%) from the floor and 3-of-24 (12.5%) from three-point range. Petree led the Braves with 13 points.
NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Junior guard Terrion Moore was tabbed the MVC Newcomer of the Week, as announced by the conference office on Monday, for her performance last week versus Bradley.
It was Moore's first weekly conference honor as well as the team's first of the 2020-21 season.
SCOUTING THE SALUKIS
Senior Abby Brockmeyer leads the Salukis on the year, averaging 14.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest. Fellow senior Makenzie Silvey also averages double figures in scoring with 12.2 points while junior Payton McCallister is dishing out a team-high 2.6 assists per game while averaging 8.6 points.
Head coach Cindy Stein holds a 111-115 record in her eighth season at the helm of the Southern Illinois program.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS - SERIES HISTORY
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Southern Illinois, 60-44, and also owns a 25-22 advantage when playing in Carbondale.
The Redbirds have swept the Salukis in each of the last three seasons and are currently on a six-game winning streak in the series.
LAST MEETING
The 'Birds got the best of the Salukis, defeating SIU 66-56 on March 1, 2020 in the squad's last home game of the 2019-20 season.
Paige Saylor led the way in scoring for ISU with 14 points, followed by Juliunn Redmond who put up 13 points, shooting 4-of-5 from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
Brittney Patrick had a game-high 17 points and Abby Brockmeyer finished with a double-double (11 points, 12 rebounds) in the loss for the Salukis.
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.
