LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Led by phenomenal nights from Paige Robinson and Kate Bullman, the Illinois State women's basketball program captured a 79-62 win over the UC San Diego Tritons Friday to begin the UNLV Thanksgiving Tournament. With the 17-point win, ISU has started a season 4-0 for the first time since 2007-08.
As the game got underway, points were at prime premium as the Redbirds would get out to an early 5-2 advantage, which would last all the way to the first quarter media timeout. A key moment came from Mary Crompton nailing a three-pointer with 2:21 left in the frame to build the Redbird lead out to eight (16-8).
From there, UC San Diego would outscore ISU 5-2 as the Redbirds led 18-13 heading into the second quarter.
Illinois State would score six of the first 10 second quarter points to lead 24-17. However, it would be an 11-0 run for the 'Birds, including a pair of pivotal threes from senior Hannah Kelle in her first season action, which grew the lead grew all the way up to 16 and forced a Triton timeout. Out of the timeout, the lead for ISU never was less than 10 for the remainder of the quarter as it was a back-and-forth scoring contest between the programs.
At the halftime break, Paige Robinson led all scorers with her nine while Kate Bullman would lead the Redbirds with her five rebounds through the first 20. Bullman would also be one of three ISU athletes with a first-half block, joined by Paige Robinson and Jada Stinson, who was also seeing her first official action of the 2022-23 season.
The third quarter saw Illinois State got some early scores, as they led 50-34 with 6:24 left in the quarter. However, the Redbirds would go scoreless until the clock read 1:36 in the third. In that span, UC San Diego took their chances and trimmed the lead from 16 all the way down to nine before the quarter ended with the Tritons taking the frame 15-10 in scoring margin.
As the final frame got started, the Tritons ramped up their defense and looked to get closer to overcoming the Redbirds. As the lead started at seven, it would grow all the way up to 12 before the final media timeout came and went. As the media timeout ended, it would be ISU not leading by less than 13 as the final margin would grow to the final 17-point differential.
Most notably, ISU would never lose the lead throughout all 40 minutes, as the largest Redbird lead came with 58 seconds left in the fourth, as ISU led 77-59.
For the Tritons, Sydney Brown led the way with 14 points as three Tritons finished in double digits. UC San Diego would see Bridgit Mullins and Emily Cangelosi lead the way with seven boards on the night.
IN THE BOX SCORE:
- With the win, not only does Illinois State match its best season start since 2007-08, but the Redbirds also have their best start under head coach Kristen Gillespie. Prior to tonight, the best start for a Redbird program under Gillespie through four games was 3-1 during both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
- Paige Robinson once more led the Redbirds in scoring, finishing with 24 points off 9-17 shooting and adding five rebounds to her Friday night stats.
- Kate Bullman would lead the Redbirds in rebounds with her eight boards on the night, adding 12 points as one of three ISU athletes to finish in double digits.
- Hannah Kelle and Jada Stinson got their first action of the season Friday night. Kelle finished with six points in 12 minutes. Stinson would see two points to her name in nine minutes played.
UP NEXT
Illinois State returns for their second day of action in the UNLV Thanksgiving Tournament against the Lady Techsters of Louisiana Tech (4-1, 0-0 C-USA). The Redbirds and the Techsters will tip off from the Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. CT.
In their series history against the Lady Techsters, Illinois State has gone 1-5 all-time as their lone series win came in the last meeting with Louisiana Tech, a 73-59 win during the 2008-09 season.
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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