DAYTON, Ohio – Mary Crompton's career night, including setting a new career high with 27 points and seven three-pointers, led the way for Illinois State women's basketball as the 2022-23 season officially got underway Thursday night. In a matchup of two 2022 NCAA postseason teams, it was the Redbirds coming out on top in a gritty 74-70 win.
The win is ISU's first win over the Flyers since 1980-81, breaking a two-game losing streak in the series, and first-ever win on the road in series history in three attempts.
The teams battled throughout the first half, as neither team could go up by more than six. At the end of the first 10 minutes, it was Dayton with a six-point edge as they led 18-12. Then, coming out for the second quarter, the 'Birds rallied to stay physical and keep the margin as tight as possible.
With a three-point field goal with 4:11 on the clock, freshman Abbie Aalsma tied the score at 24 apiece. From there, the Flyers would outscore ISU 7-4 to hold a slim 31-28 halftime lead.
In the second half, after Dayton scored eight of the first 10 points to take a nine-point lead, it was Illinois State eventually finding themselves down by 12 points (the largest deficit of the half). Despite the margin, ISU never gave up and stormed back to make it a seven-point game at the media timeout. The third ended with ISU closing the gap to four, heading into the final 10 minutes (or so).
With 4:32 left in the fourth quarter, Crompton gave ISU a very pivotal three-point lead. The 'Birds would hold the same three-point margin as the fourth headed into the final minute. The Flyers would respond and tie it up at 63 and force an extra five minutes of play.
The overtime frame saw yet another period of back-and-forth competition. With only 1:37 left, Crompton knocked down a pair of crucial free throws to expand the Redbird lead to three.
The lead would eventually get to the final deficit of five after Paige Robinson knocked down a pair of free throws herself to seal the game and give ISU the win.
On Thursday, Crompton finished 8-14 from the field and a perfect 4-4 from the charity stripe to set a new career high of 27 points. Prior to Thursday, Crompton's career high sat at 22, set against Evansville in January 2022.
For Dayton, Maliya Perry led the way, going for a double-double on her own with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
TURNING POINT
5:30 left in the fourth quarter. Tied ballgame at 53 apiece. Enter Mary Crompton. As part of her seven three-pointer night, Crompton would splash home three straight triples (nine straight points for ISU) as the score would sit 59-55 thanks to the Iowa City native's efforts.
IN THE BOX SCORE:
- At halftime, Mary Crompton sat as the only Redbird in double digits with 12 points off 4-5 shooting from behind the arc.
- The Iowa City native would finish her night with 7 triples, one away from tying the ISU program record for single-game threes set by Taylor Stewart in 2017.
- The 7 three-pointers move Crompton into a five-way tie alongside Taylor Stewart, Maggie Krick, and Megan McCracken for second-most single game threes.
- Crompton's career-high 27 points mark the first time a Redbird has amassed 25 points in a game since JuJu Redmond do so against Iowa to end the 2021-22 season.
- DeAnna Wilson recorded yet another double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Her 11 rebounds led the way for ISU as the 'Birds finished with 37 boards, including 18 offensive boards.
UP NEXT
Illinois State returns home to CEFCU Arena- Home of the Redbirds for a matchup with the visiting St. Thomas Tommies with a 6:30 p.m. CT tip on Tuesday, November 15.
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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