MOLINE, Ill. – The fourth-seeded Illinois State women's basketball team (16-13, 12-6 MVC) will face No. 5 Loyola Chicago (18-11, 10-8 MVC) in a quarterfinal match-up for the second year in a row to begin action at the Hoops in the Heartland Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in Moline, Ill on Friday afternoon.
Tip-off for Friday's game is set for 2:30 p.m. CT and will be available for streaming on ESPN+.
GAME INFORMATION
vs. No. 5 Loyola Chicago
When: Friday, March 11
Tip-off: 2:30 p.m. CT
Location: Moline, Ill.
Facility: TaxSlayer Center
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM/102.1 FM
ALL-MVC REDBIRDS
Four Redbirds were honored on All-MVC teams heading into the conference tournament.
Fifth year Juliunn Redmond and junior DeAnna Wilson both earned spots on the All-MVC First Team. Redmond led the league in scoring in the regular season while teammate Wilson ranked sixth in scoring and fourth in rebounding in the conference.
Redshirt junior Mary Crompton headlined the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team, claiming the Valley's top academic honor in the MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Senior Kayel Newland was also selected to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Forward DeAnna Wilson was named the final MVC Player of the Week, as announced by the league office on Monday, for her performance at Bradley over the weekend.
Wilson put up a game-high 22 points paired with a career-high 17 rebounds in ISU's lone game of the week, a 62-53 victory over I-74 rival Bradley, to close the regular season. It was the junior's team-leading seventh double-double of the year and the first time a Redbird has gone for 20+ points and 17+ rebounds since Kenyatta Shelton had 22 and 22 in December 2010.
It was the third MVC Player of the Week accolade for Wilson and a league-best seventh weekly honor for Illinois State this season.
LEAGUE SCORING TITLE
Fifth year Juliunn Redmond is on pace to earn the league's scoring title, leading the Valley in scoring while averaging 17.1 points per game at the end of the regular season. Redmond became the 29th member of ISU's 1,000-point club last month and the first player to reach the milestone under head coach Kristen Gillespie.
After 17 points in Saturday's game at Bradley, Redmond is currently ranked 24th among ISU's all-time scoring leaders with 1,135 career points. Redmond is also one of four Redbirds to score 1,100 points in only three seasons (joining Kristi Cirone, Cathy Boswell and Cindy Kaufmann).
EFFECTIVE FROM THE FIELD
The Redbirds lead the Valley in three-point field goal percentage (34.6%) and free throw percentage (75.8%) while ranking second in field goal percentage (44.4%). ISU is ranked top-40 nationally in all three categories.
LIGHTS OUT SHOOTER
Redshirt junior Mary Crompton is climbing the ranks amongst ISU's career three-point field goal leaders, having moved into sole possession of third all-time on Saturday at Bradley. Crompton has made 207 triples in her career and only trails former Redbirds Katie Broadway (225) and Kristi Cirone (229) for ISU's career three-point record.
As it stands, Crompton is the ONLY Redbird women's basketball player to ever record 60+ three-pointers in three different seasons.
REMATCH WITH THE RAMBLERS
Illinois State faces Loyola Chicago in their first game of the MVC Tournament for the second year in a row. Last season, the third-seeded Redbirds fell to the No. 6 Ramblers, 61-60, in the 8:30 p.m. quarterfinal.
The game came down to the final seconds with the score knotted at 60-60 the last 1:13 of the game before Loyola's Maya Chandler drew a foul with 1.6 seconds remaining. Chandler sank the first of two FTs she was awarded, and ISU used a timeout to advance the ball up the floor and draw up a play but were unable to get a shot up.
SCOUTING LOYOLA CHICAGO
Sophomore Maya Chandler leads Loyola in scoring, averaging 10.6 points per contest with senior Allison Day close behind, recording 10.4 points and 5.4 boards per game. Junior guard Sam Galanopaulos dishes out 3.3 assists per contest on the year.
The Ramblers are coming off a 1-1 weekend in which they fell to regular season champions Southern Illinois on Thursday before upsetting Missouri State, 60-42, to end conference play on Saturday.
ISU leads the all-time series, 16-8, with Loyola and swept the Ramblers in their previous two meetings this season.
Kate Achter is in her sixth season at the helm of the Ramblers program with a 67-109 overall record.
LAST MEETING
The 'Birds outlasted the Ramblers, 57-53, to complete the season sweep of Loyola back on Feb. 10 at Gentile Arena in Chicago.
Juliunn Redmond led ISU in scoring, finishing with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists in 39 minutes played.
After trailing at the end of each of the first three quarters, the Redbirds outscored the Ramblers, 22-12, in the final period to secure the win.
A free throw by junior DeAnna Wilson put the 'Birds up 44-43 with 5:45 remaining in the game, ISU's first lead since the half. Loyola briefly retook the lead after a made three-pointer by Maya Chandler before a 6-0 Redbird run gave ISU its biggest lead of the game, 51-46, with 2:16 left.
The Ramblers came within striking distance following a Sam Galanopoulos triple with 1:45 to go but were unable to get any closer then the two-point differential as ISU sank their FTs down the stretch.
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.
