SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Illinois State women's basketball team (10-7, 6-1 MVC) held on to snap Missouri State's (13-4, 4-2 MVC) 15-game home winning streak, taking down the Lady Bears, 52-51 on Saturday afternoon at JQH Arena.
Fifth year Juliunn Redmond led the way for the Redbirds, scoring a game-high 19 points. Junior DeAnna Wilson posted her fourth double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Brice Calip had 15 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Lady Bears. The defeat was Missouri State's fourth of the season and ended MSU's 19-game home winning streak over Valley opponents at JQH Arena.
TURNING POINT
A true back-and-forth affair that featured 18 lead changes and seven ties, neither the Redbirds nor Lady Bears could pull farther away than four points until ISU took a used a 7-0 run to pull ahead by six points, 45-39, with 7:50 remaining in the contest. The teams traded blows until a 5-0 Missouri State run brought the Lady Bears within one with 19 seconds remaining, 52-51.
A 10-second back court violation and five-second violation on an inbounds play were both called on the Redbirds in the final 45 seconds of the game, giving Missouri State the final possession. The Lady Bears were unable to convert on their jumper at the buzzer, as ISU held on for the 52-51 win.
IN THE BOX SCORE
- Sophomore Kate Bullman ended with nine boards, four blocks and two points in her 31 minutes on the court. The Grayslake, Ill.-native has now collected 40 blocks in a Redbird uniform, which ranks 18th all-time on ISU's career blocks list.
- ISU had a 24-8 advantage in points in the paint and finished with nine total turnovers, its second-lowest total of the year.
- Saturday's game was ISU's first win in the series since Feb. 27, 2020 and the Lady Bears first loss at home during the 2021-22 campaign.
- The Redbirds held Missouri State to 28.8% (19-of-66) shooting from the floor, a season-low for MSU and the lowest of an ISU opponent this season.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH KRISTEN GILLESPIE:
On the big win: "How about the heart of this team to bounce back after how we played on Thursday in front of a really, really spirited crowd. We had talked about going into this how it needed to be a team effort on both ends of the court and holy cow did we defend."
On different players stepping up: "JuJu just had a different level of focus. I knew she really wanted this game. DeAnna, Kate, Mary – different players stepped up in critical moments and that is exactly what we need to be successful this season. I'm just so proud of this team."
UP NEXT
The 'Birds continue MVC action this week at home, taking on UNI on Thursday and later hosting Drake on Saturday evening for their weekend finale. Tip-off for both contests is set for 6 p.m. CT.
For all 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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