NORMAL, Ill. – Mary Crompton's three-point basket on the game's final shot gave Illinois State a 73-70 win over Southern Illinois Feb. 10 at CEFCU Arena stretching the first-place Redbirds' Missouri Valley Conference winning streak to 11 games.
For Crompton, it was her third trey in the final four minutes and every one of them came with the score tied.
The Redbirds (18-5, 11-1 in the MVC) got 23 points from Paige Robinson and 20 from DeAnna Wilson in overcoming an 11-point, third-quarter Saluki lead. SIU (8-14, 5-8 in the MVC) was led by Ashley Jones' 20 points and 15 more—all on three-pointers--by Aja Holmes, who tied the score with a three-point shot twice in the final minute, requiring Compton's heroics at the end.Â
There were two seconds left when Crompton's game-winner cleared the net, but the Salukis didn't have a time out to set-up a shot.Â
The win marks Illinois State's 11th straight victory as the Redbirds maintain their hold on top of the MVC standings as they await the Missouri State Lady Bears on Sunday.
Illinois State also saw Wilson grab a team-high eight rebounds Friday night with Maya Wong dished out a team-high five assists.
The Salukis had two more athletes finish in double figures, as Promise Taylor went for 13 while Shemera Williams gathered 10 points on the night. Taylor grabbed a team-high six rebounds while Quierra Love dished out a team-leading five assists.
TURNING POINT
Aja Holmes knocked down a three-pointer to make it a 49-38 game with 3:55 remaining in the third quarter as Southern Illinois seemed to be in firm control. From there, the Redbirds started to respond slowly but surely as the clock winded down minute by minute.
Paige Robinson stepped up to trim the game to single digits (49-40) before ISU would step up to knock down five straight free throws from Robinson, Wong, and Wilson as the game stood at 49-45 with 1:42 remaining.
Wilson added a layup as ISU was inching closer to regaining the lead, but Zoe Belcher would silence the home crowd subtly as she made it 51-47 with 43 seconds remaining. However, it would be the final 43 seconds of the quarter which paid a massive dividend.
Mary Crompton would knock down a pair of free throws with 39 seconds on the clock, but it was the ISU defense who stepped up once more to keep SIU off the board. Then, with only one second on the clock, it was the heroics of Robinson to give ISU full momentum heading into the final frame.
Out of an official timeout, Robinson received the ball off the inbounds, turned and released the shot in plenty of time to give ISU a 52-51 lead as they would hold onto the momentum as the fourth quarter went back-and-forth up until the final seconds.
IN THE BOX SCORE:
- Illinois State held 13 assists on 25 made field goals Friday
- Southern Illinois would outscore the Redbirds in the paint, 34-30
- Illinois State held nine second-chance points against the Salukis
- As Wilson and Robinson finish with 20+ points, it is the first time ISU sees two athletes finish over 20 points in a game since Jan. 22 versus Evansville
- With four athletes in double figures, SIU becomes first team with this feat against ISU since the first meeting between the two back on Jan. 7 in Carbondale.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Mary Crompton
- Finished with four three-pointers Friday;
- Now in sole possession of third all-time in MVC history for career three-pointers (281).
- Paige Robinson
- 20th time scoring in double figures this season
- DeAnna Wilson
- 16th time, and 10th straight, finishing in double figures this seasonÂ
- Sits 21st all-time in ISU history for career rebounds (571).
UPÂ NEXT
The 'Birds wrap up their four-game homestand as Missouri State comes to Normal for a Sunday matinee. Tipoff is scheduled between the Redbirds and Lady Bears for 1:00 p.m. Sunday inside CEFCU 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.
