SAINT LOUIS, Mo. – For the second straight contest, Illinois State women's basketball came up just a little short, this time coming by a 75-65 margin inside Chaifetz Arena to the Saint Louis Billikens. As the Billikens move to 3-8 in 2022-23, the Redbirds drop to 5-2 overall as they will look to rebound quickly, as they will be back in action in a matter of three days.
As the Billikens got on the board first in the first quarter off a pair of free throws from Peyton Kennedy, it was Paige Robinson stepping up to sink a three-pointer at 9:18 in the first to give ISU a one-point lead. From there, the home team would score six straight before allowing Robinson to hit another shot as she held all six of ISU's points early.
As the first quarter media timeout hit, it was Saint Louis leading 13-11. Right out of the timeout, Martinez would make SLU's lead four before her teammate, McMakin, was lights out and made it 18-11 SLU with 2:44 remaining. The Redbirds would fight back to tie the game up off a pair of DeAnna Wilson free throws at the 1:23 mark. McMakin would knock down a jumper with just over a minute remaining as Kate Bullman responded with a second chance layup with 30 seconds left as the first frame ended with both sides knotted at 20.
The second 10 minutes was yet another back-and-forth battle as Wilson would knock down a pivotal and-one to close the deficit to one (24-23) only a minute into the quarter. Mary Crompton would later give ISU a lead with a three-pointer at 7:48, but it would be short lived as Saint Louis tied the game up off a Briana Johns jumper shortly after. The Billikens would score the next four points before the media timeout as they led 32-28 at the timeout.
The final four and a half minutes saw the Billikens outscore ISU 8-4 including five points from the hand of McMakin as the halftime lead stood 40-36 in favor of the hometown Billikens.
At the halftime break, ISU would be led by Mary Crompton's 10 points while Paige Robinson was close behind with eight as both athletes grabbed a pair of rebounds during the first 20 minutes. For Saint Louis, Kyla McMakin was leading the way with 15 as Julia Martinez held 12 points at the break, including 2-2 from behind the arc.
Right out of the break as the second half started, Saint Louis scored five straight points in a span of a minute to make it 45-36 before the Redbirds got on the board thanks to a pair of free throws from Paige Robinson. In a déjà vu situation, DeAnna Wilson converted yet another and-one situation with 7:51 remaining to trim the lead to four (45-41). After the first media timeout of the quarter came and went, SLU would build their lead out to eight (51-43) with 6:29 remaining in the third.
However, thanks to the efforts of DeAnna Wilson and Ta'Shonna Wright-Gaskins, the lead was trimmed to four (51-47) as the third quarter media timeout came. Saint Louis would continue leading, until Maya Wong would see the shot clock winding down as she made a move on her SLU defender, knocking down a triple and giving ISU a 55-53 lead with 1:48 remaining.
Over the remaining time, SLU would knock down a free throw as the final 10 minutes would start with both sides knotted at 55.
The lead would shift between the two to start the fourth, as SLU took a two-point lead before ISU knotted it up before taking a three-point lead with 8:33 remaining off a three from Paige Robinson. The lead would once more shift as Kennedy gave ISU a one-point lead at the 7:14 mark off a layup. After Martinez spread the Billikens lead to three at 5:57, Kate Bullman would knock down a layup as 5:40 remained on the clock.
The final 5:40 of the fourth would be a massive deciding factor in Saturday's result. The Redbirds would be stifled by the Billikens defense, as they were held scoreless for almost the remainder of the game, apart from a Mary Crompton three with 17 seconds left. In the final 5:40 of the fourth quarter, ISU would also see five turnovers forced by SLU which helped pave the way to the 10-point victory.
As part of their 10-point victory, the Billikens would see Julia Martinez stepping up in a massive way as she set a new career high with 20 points. She was joined in double digits by Kayla McMakin with 22, Brooke Flowers with 14, and Peyton Kennedy with 10. Flowers would add seven more blocks to her DI lead as she now sits with 48 blocks in the 2022-23 season.
IN THE BOX SCORE:
- A trio of Redbirds would end the night in double digits, led by Crompton's 18. She was joined in double figures by Paige Robinson's 15 and DeAnna Wilson's 12.
- The Redbirds return home to CEFCU Arena for the first time since defeating Wisconsin on Nov. 20 after playing four straight on the road.
- Saint Louis scored 21 points off 15 ISU turnovers; ISU would only convert nine points off 17 Billikens turnovers.
UP NEXT
Illinois State is back home for their annual Education Day as they welcome UMSL to CEFCU Arena on Tuesday for an 11:00 a.m. CT tip.
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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