CARBONDALE, Ill. – Senior Juliunn Redmond just missed a double-double with a game-high 22 points and nine rebounds in Illinois State's 57-50 win over Southern Illinois at the Banterra Center on Friday afternoon. The Redbirds improved to 10-3 (7-3 MVC) with the victory while the Salukis dropped to 5-8 (2-6 MVC) on the year.
Redmond went 8-of-14 (57.1%) from the floor, including 2-of-3 (66.6%) and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line to record her second-straight 20+ point performance and third in the last four games.
Joining her in double figures was junior Terrion Moore who tallied 12 points, five rebounds and three assists and redshirt sophomore Mary Crompton who added 10 points. Senior Paige Saylor dished out a game-high six assists.
The Salukis were led by senior Makenzie Silvey who scored 12 points while grabbing five boards.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first half featured a back-and-forth battle between the Redbirds and Salukis, as they traded points until SIU went on a 7-1 run to close the second quarter and take a 32-27 advantage into halftime. Silvey had five of those seven points and the 'Birds trailed at the half for only the second time this season. Crompton recorded all 10 of her points in the first half.
The 'Birds hung tough and used a 11-2 run to end the third period to propel them into the lead, 42-41. Redmond had seven of her 22 points during that stretch, including two layups and a triple. The Salukis took the lead again on a Caitlin Link three-pointer in the fourth quarter at 48-47, before going cold as the Redbirds ended the game with a 10-2 edge.
ISU outscored the Salukis, 15-9, and limited them to only three field goals in each of the final two quarters.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Redmond surpassed 500 career points in today's win in just 41 games as a Redbird. The senior currently sits at 506 points after the fifth 20+ point performance of her career. She now has ten double-digit games this season and 26 in her career.
- Illinois State outrebounded Southern Illinois, 39-29, and owned a 29-21 advantage on the defensive boards. The Redbirds have outrebounded their opponent in 10 of 12 contests this year.
- The Salukis only shot 33.3% (18-of-54) from the floor and 24% (6-of-25) from behind the arc, making it the eighth time this season the Redbirds have held an opponent to under 35% shooting.
QUOTE FROM HEAD COACH KRISTEN GILLESPIE
On the second half: "I thought we came out after a very spirited halftime conversation and I thought we were much better. For us to come out with a win tomorrow we have to play 40 minutes like that."
UP NEXT
The Redbirds rematch the Salukis again tomorrow at 4 p.m. CT at the Banterra Center in the second game of the back-to-back series.
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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