NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State (10-8, 6-1 MVC) raises the curtain on a four-game homestand this coming weekend, hosting UNI (10-6, 3-2 MVC) on Thursday and Drake (10-8, 2-5 MVC) on Saturday at Redbird Arena.
Tip-off for both games is set for 6 p.m. with the contests being streamed on ESPN+.
GAME INFORMATION
vs. UNI / vs. Drake
When: Thursday, Jan. 27 / Saturday, Jan. 29
Tip-off: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Normal, Ill.
Facility: Redbird Arena
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM/102.1 FM
BEST START IN THE VALLEY SINCE 2010
Illinois State sits at the top of the Valley with a 6-1 record, its best start to conference play since the 2009-10 campaign when the Redbirds started 15-1 in MVC action on the way to a regular season title.
LAST TIME OUT
ISU snapped Missouri State's 15-game home winning streak on Saturday afternoon, taking down the Lady Bears, 52-51, 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.
EFFICIENCY IS KEY
The Redbirds lead the Valley and rank 16th and 20th nationally in field goal percentage (46.0%) and three-point field goal percentage (36.2%).
Individually, Juliunn Redmond (60th – 50.3%) and DeAnna Wilson (61st – 50.0%) rank top-100 in the country in field goal percentage (4th and 5th in the league). Mary Crompton leads the league shooting at a 38.8% clip from deep, good for 64th nationally.
Illinois State is looking to end Drake's streak of leading the conference in FG% the past seven seasons.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Senior Karli Rucker leads the Panthers in scoring on the year, averaging 13.7 points and a team-best 3.5 assists per game. Junior Kam Finley joins her in averaging double figures, adding 11.5 points per contest. Freshman forward Grace Boffeli is UNI's leader on the boards, bring down 8.6 rebounds per game.
The Panthers had their second Valley loss of the season on Friday to Iowa rivals Drake, falling 65-57 in Des Moines. Rucker and senior Nicole Kroeger were UNI's double-digit scorers, finishing with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Boffeli grabbed a game-best 10 boards in the loss. UNI's other loss in league play came by way of Valparaiso in its MVC opener on Jan. 7, 60-58.
ISU leads the all-time series, 45-38, and has a 26-14 advantage when playing in Normal. The Redbirds were swept last year by the Panthers, dropping back-to-back games on Jan. 1 and Jan. 2 on the road at UNI.
Tanya Warren is in her 14th year at the helm of the UNI program, holding a 270-196 record.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Drake has three juniors averaging double figures in scoring on the year: Maggie Bair (12.3), Megan Meyer (11.2) and Grace Berg (10.8). Freshman Anna Miller and sophomore Courtney Becker share Drake's rebounding leader title, averaging 5.8 rebounds per contest.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 65-57 win over in-state rival UNI on Friday to collect their second win in league play and snap a four-game losing streak.
Drake leads the all-time series with ISU, 48-37, with the Redbirds having a 23-20 advantage when playing in Normal. Illinois State swept the Bulldogs for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign last year, defeating Drake in back-to-back games at Redbird Arena on Feb. 19 and Feb. 20.
Head coach Allison Pohlman is in her first year at the helm of the Bulldog program, holding a 10-8 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.
