MORAGA, Calif. – Illinois State held Saint Mary's to just 18 points in the second half as the Redbirds took down the Gaels 62-51 to close out the 2023 Saint Mary's Thanksgiving Classic and win their fourth straight game Saturday night.
HIGHLIGHTS
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The win unofficially secured the Saint Mary's Thanksgiving Classic Championship for Illinois State, who was the only unbeaten team in a field of Saint Mary's (1-1), UT Arlington (1-1) and North Carolina A&T (0-2).
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DeAnna Wilson led Illinois State with a game-high 18 points. She also finished with 6 rebounds and 2 steals in the win. Wilson scored 10 points in the first half Saturday and notched her third performance this season with 15-plus points.
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Wilson was Illinois State's only double-figure scorer in the game, but eight other Redbirds also scored in the contest. Caroline Waite went 3-for-6 from behind the arc to finish with 9 points. Maya Wong also tallied 9 points and Abbie Aalsma put up 8 points and 6 rebounds.
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It was a back-and-forth affair in a first half that saw three lead changes. Illinois State ended the first half on an 8-4 run and headed to the locker room knotted at 33.
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The Redbirds led for all but 17 seconds of the first quarter, building as much as a 17-11 advantage off a Molly Lenz fastbreak layup with 2:38 to go in the opening frame. Saint Mary's jumped out 29-25 in the second quarter, but the 8-4 scoring run from Illinois State tied it at half. Brooke Coffey canned a three and completed an old-fashioned three-point play to score six of Illinois State's last eight in the second half.
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The Redbirds began to take control with a strong second half performance. Illinois State opened on a 12-4 run, highlighted by four points from Aalsma to kickstart the surge. Threes from Wong and Waite made it a 48-39 lead for Illinois State before Savannah McGowan's second-chance bucket stretched the advantage to 50-39 heading into the fourth.
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The run continued into the fourth quarter as Illinois State built a 55-41 lead. Saint Mary's trimmed the lead back to single digits, but the Redbirds were able to hang on for the win.
GAME NOTES
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Waite has hit 3-plus three-pointers in all five of Illinois State's wins this season.
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It marked the first time this season that Illinois State held an opponent to fewer than 20 points in a half, and the first time since UIC scored just 11 first-half points in January of last season.
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It was the first time this season that Illinois State won without scoring 85-plus points.
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Kate Bullman grabbed 11 rebounds, her third performance of 10-plus rebounds this year. She also had a season-high four blocks.
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