NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team (15-11, 11-4 MVC) begins a three-game road trip to end the regular season this weekend with a pair of road tests in the state of Iowa. The Redbirds tip-off versus Drake (13-12, 5-9 MVC) on Friday at 6 p.m. before finishing the weekend at UNI (16-9, 9-5 MVC) on Sunday at 2 p.m. Both games will be available for streaming on ESPN+.
GAME INFORMATION
at Drake / at UNI
When: Friday, Feb. 25 / Sunday, Feb. 27
Tip-off: 6 p.m. CT / 2 p.m. CT
Location: Des Moines, Iowa / Cedar Falls, Iowa
Facility: Knapp Center / McLeod Center
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM/102.1 FM
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
After hosting their final homestand last weekend, the Redbirds will face their final three MVC opponents on the road, starting with Drake and UNI this weekend before ending the regular season at Bradley next Saturday.
ISU is no stranger to wrapping things up on the road, as the Redbirds have concluded the regular season with away games in each of the last 14 seasons and have had road trips that span multiple weeks (3+ games) in five of the last seven campaigns.
The Redbirds are 7-5 in away games this season and 5-1 in Valley road games.
LAST TIME OUT
Fifth year guard Juliunn Redmond's game-high 21 points on Sunday wasn't enough as ISU dropped its final home game of the season to Southern Illinois, 65-49, at Redbird Arena.
Redmond led the 'Birds in scoring in her fifth-straight game, going for her ninth 20+ point performance of the season. Redshirt junior Mary Crompton chipped in eight points with redshirt sophomore Maya Wong adding seven.
Southern Illinois, who maintained first place in the MVC with the victory, had three Salukis finish in double figures, led by a 20 point, 12 rebound double-double performance from graduate student Abby Brockmeyer.
1,000-POINT CLUB
Juliunn Redmond was officially recognized as the 29th member of Illinois State's 1,000-point club last weekend at home, after reaching the milestone the previous weekend in a 37-point performance at Valparaiso (Feb. 12). Redmond is the first player to eclipse the 1,000-point mark under head coach Kristen Gillespie is currently ranked 26th among ISU all-time scoring leaders with 1,078 career points.
EFFECTIVE SHOOTING
The Redbirds lead the Valley in all three shooting categories: field goal percentage (45.2%, ranked 23rd nationally), three-point field goal percentage (36.3%, 18th nationally) and free throw percentage (76.5%, 24th nationally).
Illinois State is looking to end Drake's streak of leading the Valley in FG% the past seven seasons.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Drake is led by junior forward Maggie Bair who averages 12.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game on the year. Junior duo Grace Berg (11.5 ppg) and Megan Meyer (11.4 ppg) also average double-digit scoring. Freshman guard Katie Dinnebier is Drake's assist leader, dishing out 3.4 dimes per contest.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 73-68 win over UNI on Saturday afternoon, in which Meyer and freshman forward Anna Miller each scored 16 points.
Drake leads the all-time series with the Redbirds, 48-38, and has a 25-13 advantage when playing in Des Moines. The Redbirds have been favored in the series recently, winning the earlier match-up this season and currently on a three-game winning streak versus the Bulldogs.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Senior point guard Karli Rucker averages team-highs in points (13.2) and assists (3.2) to lead the Panthers, with junior guard Kam Finley also chiming in 12.1 points per game. Forward Grace Boffeli ranks third in the conference in rebounding as a freshman, pulling down 8.9 boards per game.
The Panthers enter the weekend on a three-game losing streak, having lost at Southern Illinois and Missouri State prior to last week's loss to Drake.
Illinois State leads the all-time series with UNI, 45-39, with the Panthers having a 21-18 advantage in Cedar Falls. UNI was victorious in their previous meeting this year, defeating Illinois State 75-67 at Redbird Arena.
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.
