CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – In a battle of the top two teams in the Missouri Valley, entering Thursday night, it was the Illinois State Redbirds clinching the 72-70 win over the UNI Panthers from the McLeod Center.
The win was significant for many reasons, but none more so than it now places ISU in sole possession of first place in the Missouri Valley standings as the regular season continues.
ISU's win also stands as their 13th regular season MVC win this season, the program's highest under head coach Kristen Gillespie and most for an ISU program since 2013. Finally, the win allows Illinois State to move to 7-0 in MVC road games, and now have eight road wins overall, this season. Â
The night would also be highlighted by the shooting of graduate student Paige Robinson for ISU, who finished with a game-high 26 points off 9-of-17 shooting. The Bethany native saw both Kate Bullman (13) and Maya Wong (12) finish the night in double figures.
For Northern Iowa, Maya McDermott and Grace Boffeli paced their efforts as McDermott finished with a team-high 17 points while Boffeli captured a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
With the win, Illinois State moves to 19-6 overall and 13-2 in Valley play while UNI is now 17-7 overall and 12-3 in Valley play.
TURNING POINT
Despite an early 8-0 scoring run from the Redbirds to start the game, UNI never lost their fight and would hold the game to a single game deficit as the first 30 minutes came to an end. After the first 30 minutes, ISU held a seven-point (55-48) lead as the game went into the final 10 minutes of action.
As the quarter started with the teams trading baskets and Illinois State saw their lead trimmed to one on a couple of occasions, UNI finally broke through to gain their first lead of the night with 5:12 remaining off an Emerson Green layup.
The score continued to shift between the two sides, until Maya McDermott knocked down a jumper with just under two minutes to go as the home team led 68-66. From there, Paige Robinson scored four straight points to give the visitors a crucial 70-68 lead before UNI knotted it up back at 70 with a Kam Finley jumper and only 32 seconds on the clock.
Then, as they looked to hold the ball until the weaning moments of the shot clock, ISU would see Kate Bullman get fouled as she would head to the line in hopes of giving ISU a lead with 7.7 seconds remaining. The Grayslake native would net both of her chances, giving ISU the 72-70 lead as UNI called time to draw up a last chance effort.
However, ISU's defense including Kate Bullman shutting down UNI's Maya McDermott, stepped up and never allowed the Panthers to get a last-chance off as the clock hit zero.
IN THE BOX SCORE:
- Illinois State held 12 assists on 25 made field goals Thursday
- Illinois State won the battle in the paint, 22-20.
- UNI held seven fast break points and eight bench points Thursday
- The five blocks for ISU are the second straight game where the 'Birds have held five rejections (2/12/23 v. Missouri State)
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Kate Bullman
- 8th time finishing in double figures this season
- Moves her ISU blocks total to 111, sitting solely in third place all-time
- Abbie Aalsma
- Most points in a game (9) since Jan. 12 at Bradley, where she finished with six
- Made three three-pointers Thursday; her most in her early ISU career
- Paige Robinson
- 22nd time scoring in double figures this season
- 13th game with 20+ points
UPÂ NEXT
The 'Birds end their time in the Hawkeye State as they face the Drake Bulldogs on Saturday. Tip-off from the Knapp Center is slated for 2:00 p.m. between the Bulldogs and Redbirds.
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.
