NORMAL, Ill. – Sitting alone at the top of the Missouri Valley Conference standings, the Illinois State women's basketball team (15-9, 11-2 MVC) hosts third place Missouri State (18-5, 9-3 MVC) and second place Southern Illinois (15-7, 10-2 MVC) in a final homestand on Friday and Sunday this weekend at Redbird Arena.
Tip-off on Friday versus the Lady Bears is set for 6 p.m. with Sunday's start time slated for 2 p.m. against the Salukis. Both games will be available for streaming on ESPN+.
GAME INFORMATION
vs. Missouri State / vs. Southern Illinois
When: Friday, Feb. 18 / Sunday, Feb. 20
Tip-off: 6 p.m. CT / 2 p.m. CT
Location: Normal, Ill.
Facility: Redbird Arena
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM/102.1 FM
SPECIAL TICKET DEAL
Fans can purchase the Double Bird package to receive tickets to the last two home games AND an F61 parking pass for the price of $15. For more information, click here.
TIGHT AT THE TOP
With three weeks left in the regular season, the top four teams in The Valley standings are separated by only two games. Illinois State holds a half game lead over SIU in the win column entering the week, while Missouri State is 1.5 games back and UNI is two games behind the Redbirds.
Illinois State currently has the MVC's longest winning streak, sitting at five-straight heading into this week's crucial games against Missouri State and Southern Illinois.
LAST TIME OUT
Fifth year guard Juliunn Redmond exploded for a career-high 37 points while joining ISU's 1,000-point club to help the Redbirds to an 85-80 victory on the road at Valparaiso on Sunday afternoon.
In addition to her 37 points, Redmond added six rebounds, four assists and a steal in her 38 minutes on the court. Redshirt junior Mary Crompton ended just shy of her career-high in scoring, going 5-of-10 from behind the three-point arc to record 19 points on the day.
Junior DeAnna Wilson rounded out ISU's double-digit scorers, posting 11 points and four rebounds while drawing a game-high eight personal fouls.
Valpo was led by graduate student Carie Weinman who finished with 22 points, two assists and two steals.
37 POINTS
Redmond's 37 points was not only a career-high, but it was also the most points scored in a game by a Redbird since Caryn Brune had 43 points vs. Marquette on Dec. 11, 1992. Redmond is one of 20 players in NCAA Division I this season to have a 37+ point performance and the most points scored by a MVC player in over two years.
MVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Juliunn Redmond was named MVC Player of the Week for a league-leading third time this season, after averaging 26.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in ISU's two wins over the weekend.
ISU remains the only program to have had three different student-athletes selected as Player of the Week, with Redmond (Dec. 13, Jan. 31, Feb. 14), redshirt junior Mary Crompton (Jan. 10) and junior DeAnna Wilson (Dec. 27, Jan. 17) all previously honored this season.
SUPER SHARPSHOOTER
In Saturday's game, Mary Crompton sank 5+ triples for the fifth time this season and has now recorded multiple three-pointers in 59-of-82 (72%) career games.
Currently ranked fourth all-time with 201 career triples, Crompton now sits at 61 treys on the year and is the first Redbird to have made 60+ three-pointers in three different seasons.
EFFECTIVE SHOOTING
The Redbirds lead the Valley in all three shooting categories: field goal percentage (45.6%, ranked 15th nationally), three-point field goal percentage (37.2%, 12th nationally) and free throw percentage (75.9%, 34th nationally).
SCOUTING THE LADY BEARS
Senior forward Abi Jackson is leading the Lady Bears in scoring and rebounding on the year, averaging 11.7 points and 6.5 boards through 22 games. Fellow seniors Brice Calip (11.4 ppg) and Sydney Wilson (11.3 ppg) also average double figure scoring.
Missouri State enters Friday's matchup on a three-game winning streak, coming off a 2-0 weekend at home over the Iowa schools. The Lady Bears held on to defeat Drake, 63-59, on Friday night before handing UNI its fourth loss of Valley play on Sunday afternoon.
MSU leads the all-time series with the Redbirds, 47-34, and also has a 21-19 advantage in the series when playing in Normal. It was the 'Birds who won the earlier meeting this season with the Lady Bears though, outlasting Missouri State, 52-51, on the road at JQH Arena.
SCOUTING THE SALUKIS
Southern Illinois has three of the top seven scorers in conference play: Makenzie Silvey (16.4 ppg), Abby Brockmeyer (16.1 ppg) and Gabby Walker (12.5 ppg). Brockmeyer is nearly averaging a double-double, collecting a team-high 9.9 rebounds on the year while Silvey dishes out 3.4 dimes per contest.
The Salukis are also on a three-game winning streak entering the weekend, with wins over UNI and Drake last week.
The Redbirds lead the all-time series with the Salukis, 61-46, and have a 31-22 advantage when playing at Redbird Arena. The Salukis got the best of the 'Birds in Carbondale earlier this year, snapping ISU's six game winning streak at the time and handing them their first loss of conference play, 56-47, at the Banterra Center.
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.
