NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team (11-9, 7-2 MVC) held Missouri Valley Conference opponent Drake (11-9, 3-6 MVC) scoreless for five minutes in the fourth quarter and rattled off a 10-0 run during that stretch en route to a 70-58 victory at Redbird Arena on Saturday evening.
Redshirt junior Mary Crompton was one point shy of her career high in scoring, finishing with 21 points off five three-pointers while going a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Fifth year Juliunn Redmond continued her impressive weekend, ending with her first points-assists double-double as a Redbird with 11 points, 10 assists, three rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot.
Redshirt sophomore Maya Wong recorded a career-high 17 points, shooting 50% (3-of-6) from behind the arc and adding two assists and a rebound.
Drake's Megan Meyer had a career-high 22 points, going 6-of-8 from behind the three-point arc.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Redbirds got off to a slow start, not recording their first field goal until the 7:03 mark while being outscored 10-2 by Drake through the first five minutes of the game. Trailing by eight early, a triple by senior Kayel Newland jump-started the offense with a buzzer-beating lay up by Wong putting the 'Birds down 16-11 at the end of one.
ISU again began slow in the second quarter, scoring its first field goal of the period three minutes in before going on a 17-4 run to tie the game at the half, 28-28. Crompton drilled her first triple of the game just before time expired to send the Redbirds into the locker room on a high note.
A trey by Crompton to begin the second half was quickly followed by back-to-back threes from Wong, as ISU scored on their first three possessions of the half to set the tone for the remainder of the game. The 'Birds went 5-of-8 from three in the third quarter and shot 50% from the floor to take a 49-44 lead into the final 10 minutes.
Illinois State went on to outscore the Bulldogs, 21-14, in the final period with Crompton recording 12 of her team-best 21 points in the fourth quarter.
IN THE BOX SCORE
- Sophomore Kate Bullman ended with four blocks for the third-straight game. Bullman's 30 blocked shots this season is ranked second in the conference with 24 of those blocks coming against Valley schools.
- Redmond's point-assists double-double is ISU's first since Paige Saylor had 11 points and 10 assists in last year's season-opener versus Saint Xavier (12/6/20).
- Junior DeAnna Wilson was ISU's leader on the boards, grabbing 12 rebounds in addition to four points, a block and a steal.
- ISU's 11 made three-pointers was a season-high as the Redbirds went a collective 11-of-24 (45.8%) from distance.
- With their season-sweep of the Bulldogs during the 2020-21 campaign, the 'Birds have now won three-straight in the series, its longest winning streak since a three-game stretch from 2013-14.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH KRISTEN GILLESPIE:
On ISU's slow start to the game: "We were a little worried coming off of Thursday, we had exerted so much energy and it was such an emotional game. Drake hit some shots early, Megan Meyer was on fire and we had trouble with [Maggie] Bair. It took us a second to settle in and then we got into a great groove offensively. I know the last game it was a two-man show with JuJu and DeAnna, but when we share the ball like we did tonight is when we're at our best."
On JuJu's career weekend: "JuJu had a rough night coming off her last game but when you look at the box score – 10 assists. That's the shift in JuJu, that she's willing to do whatever to help us win."
UP NEXT
The 'Birds continue their four-game homestand, hosting Evansville Friday evening for Pride Night before rounding out the weekend playing Indiana State on Sunday for ISU's annual Play4Kay game. Tip-off on Friday evening is set for 6 p.m. with Sunday slated for a 2 p.m. start.
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.
