IOWA CITY, Iowa – Illinois State makes it's sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history when it faces Iowa in a sold out First Round game on their home court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday. Tip-off versus the Hawkeyes is set for 3 p.m. CT and the game will be aired on ESPN.
GAME INFORMATION
#15 Illinois State vs. #2 Iowa
When: Friday, March 18
Tip-off: 3 p.m. CT
Location: Iowa City, Iowa
Facility: Carver-Hawkeye Arena
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM/102.1
TIME TO DANCE
The Redbirds are set to make their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2008 on Friday, after punching their ticket in Sunday's Missouri Valley Conference title game. Fourth-seeded Illinois State used dominant defense to hold No. 3 UNI scoreless for the last 5:19 of the game and go on an 8-0 run during that stretch, coming from behind for a 50-48 victory and ISU's fifth tourney title.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Redbirds are 1-5 at the NCAA Tournament with their lone win coming back in 1989 as a seven-seed over #10 Northwestern State, 100-79. That team went on to fall in the second round to #2 Stanford, 105-77.
ISU's last appearance in the NCAA Tournament was in 2008 as the MVC regular season and tournament champion Redbirds fell to fourth-seeded Oklahoma, 69-61, at Mackey Arena in West LaFayette, Ind.
ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Juliunn Redmond was voted the MVC Tournament's Most Outstanding Player as well as to the All-Tournament Team with teammate DeAnna Wilson. Mary Crompton was awarded the Elite 17 Award, given to the student-athlete with the highest grade-point average competing in the championship.
SOLD OUT
Iowa Athletics has announced the NCAA's First Round on Friday is completely sold out. The 'Birds will be playing in front of over 15,000 fans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, one of the 25-largest university-owned facilities in the nation.
MARY CROMPTON HOMECOMING
The best sharpshooter in the Valley is coming home this weekend, as redshirt junior Mary Crompton returns to Iowa City. Crompton played at Regina H.S. where she holds the school's three-point field goals made and three-point field goals percentage records.
IT'S JUJU TIME
Illinois state fifth year guard Juliunn Redmond has been on another level this last half of the season and is averaging 22 points over the last 14 games. Redmond, who came back for her extra year of eligibility, led the Redbirds to their tournament title, scoring 68 points through ISU's three games to tie for sixth-most in Valley history. Her 29 FGs at the tourney were the most since 2002 and tied her for fourth. Redmond was named the MVC Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, is a 2x All-MVC selection and one of four players to score 1,200+ points in three seasons at ISU.
ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
Redshirt junior Mary Crompton was one of 16 women's basketball student-athletes to be named an Academic All-American for the 2021-22 season, as announced on Wednesday. Crompton was named to the Academic All-American Third Team and becomes just the second Redbird in program history to earn the honor, joining Beth Landes Ehresman who was recognized as such in 1980.
The reigning MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year has a 4.0 grade-point average while pursuing a master's degree in Biology. Crompton graduated in three years with a bachelor's degree in Physiology, Neuroscience and Behavior in May 2021.
SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES
Iowa enters Friday's game on a seven-game winning streak, having captured the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships.
Sophomore sensation and finalist for Naismith Player of the Year Caitlin Clark is averaging 27.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game while leading the country in both scoring and assists.
Monika Czinano and McKenna Warnock both average double figures as well, putting up 21.1 and 11.4 points per game, respectively.
AT THE HELM
Lisa Bluder is 462-241 in her 22 seasons at Iowa and holds an overall record of 817-313 in her 34 seasons as a head coach.
SERIES HISTORY
Iowa leads the all-time series, 6-1, with Illinois State and have won in each of their last five meetings. The Redbirds and Hawkeyes last met in Iowa City back in 2012.
LAST MEETING
The Illinois State women's basketball team fell to Iowa, 74-64, in the Preseason WNIT on Nov. 11, 2012, despite a career performance from senior guard Jamie Russell at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.
Russell poured in 30 points, while adding 12 rebounds and eight steals, but a 20-point advantage from the free throw line and 24 points, nine rebounds and five blocks from Morgan Johnson lifted the Hawkeyes to a quarterfinal win.
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.
