NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team (9-7, 5-0 MVC) will look to defend its unbeaten Missouri Valley Conference record this weekend, when it travels south to take on Southern Illinois (8-6, 3-1 MVC) and Missouri State (12-3, 3-1 MVC) on the road.
Tip-off between the Redbirds and Salukis is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday, while Saturday's contest against the Lady Bears is slated for 2 p.m.
GAME INFORMATION
at Southern Illinois / at Missouri State
When: Thursday, Jan. 20 / Saturday, Jan. 22
Tip-off: 6 p.m. CT / 2 p.m. CT
Location: Carbondale, Ill. / Springfield, Mo.
Facility: Banterra Center / JQH Arena
Watch: ESPN+ / ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM/102.1 FM
LAST TIME OUT
Junior forward DeAnna Wilson poured in a career-high 25 points to lead a trio of Redbirds in double figures as ISU took down Loyola Chicago, 68-50, Saturday evening inside Redbird Arena.
Sophomore Kate Bullman finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds to collect her second double-double in as many games. Redshirt junior Mary Crompton rounded out ISU's double-digit scorers, recording 10 points with five rebounds.
The hot-shooting Redbirds shot over 55% from the floor for the fifth time this season, finishing with a 55.6% clip. ISU also outscored Loyola, 42-22, in points in the paint and had a 33-26 advantage on the boards.
BEST START IN THE VALLEY SINCE 2008
Illinois State's 5-0 record in the MVC is its best start in conference play since the 2007-08 campaign, in which the Redbirds went 8-0 to start Valley action.
ISU's 5-0 league start matches 14 others who have started perfect with five or more league wins in 2021-22 (through Jan. 17 games).
7-0 – NC State, South Dakota
6-0 – Fairfield, Indiana New Mexico, Tennessee, Toledo
5-0 – Belmont, Boston, Illinois State, Iowa State, Jackson State, Louisville, SFA, Western Kentucky
MVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior DeAnna Wilson was announced as the MVC Player of the Week on Monday, earning the honor for the second time this season after averaging 21.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in ISU's two wins over the weekend.
ISU has now earned the title in four of the last six weeks, including in back-to-back weeks following redshirt junior Mary Crompton's selection last Monday.
The Redbirds remain the only program in the league to have three different student-athletes honored as the Valley Player of the Week, with fifth year Juliunn Redmond having also earned the honor earlier in December as well.
EFFICIENCY IS KEY
The Redbirds lead the Valley and 12th and 20th nationally in field goal percentage (46.6%) and three-point field goal percentage (36.5%).
Individually, DeAnna Wilson (52nd, 53.0%) and Juliunn Redmond (80th, 49.7%) rank top-100 in the country in field goal percentage (3rd and 5th in the MVC). Mary Crompton leads the league shooting at a 40.8% clip from deep, good for 40th nationally.
Illinois State is looking to end Drake's streak of leading the conference in FG% the past seven seasons.
SCOUTING THE SALUKIS
The Salukis are led by a trio of graduate students averaging double figures: Makenzie Silvey (15.9 ppg), Abby Brockmeyer (15.8 ppg) and Gabby Walker (11.7 ppg).
Southern Illinois split on the road last weekend, downing Drake in Des Moines before falling to UNI, 66-57, on Saturday. The loss to the Panthers was SIU's first in Valley play this season.
ISU leads the all-time series, 61-45, and also have a 26-23 advantage when playing in Carbondale. The Redbirds went 1-1 against the Salukis at the Banterra Center during the 2020-21 campaign, winning the first game, 57-50, before falling in the second, 43-41.
Cindy Stein is in her ninth and final year at the helm of the Saluki program, having announced her retirement prior to the start of the season. Stein is 123-130 overall in her time at SIU and 405-336 in her 23 years as a head coach.
SCOUTING THE BEARS
Sydney Wilson (11.2 ppg) and two-time MVC Player of the Year Brice Calip (11.1 ppg) lead the Lady Bears in scoring, after forward Jasmine Franklin had a season-ending injury prior to the start of conference play. Senior forward Abigayle Jackson adds 9.3 points per game while grabbing a team-high 6.4 boards on the season.
Missouri State split on the road last weekend, losing at UNI before defeating Drake on Sunday, 69-53. MSU's loss to UNI is their only during conference play this year.
The Lady Bears lead, 47-33, in the all-time series with the Redbirds, sweeping ISU at home during the 2020-21 season.
Head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton is in her third year with the Lady Bears program, holding a 61-10 overall record.
For all 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.
