MOLINE, Ill. – Graduate guard Paige Robinson exploded for a team-high 21 points on Friday afternoon to lead one-seeded Illinois State to a 75-73 win over Murray State in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Vibrant Arena in Moline, Ill.
Robinson went 9-of-12 from the floor and a near perfect 2-of-3 from the free throw line to bring her to 21 points on the day. The Redbirds also had four other athletes finish in double figures, as Kate Bullman chipped in 14 along with DeAnna Wilson's 12, Abbie Aalsma's 11 (3-of-5 from three), and Mary Crompton's 10. The last time ISU had five athletes finish in double figures came in January 2022 versus Bradley.Â
The Racers were led by Katelyn Young's game-high 26 points off 10-of-16 shooting. Murray State also had Hannah McKay finish with 19 as Macey Turley dropped in 10 points for the program as well.Â
With the win, the Redbirds advance to Saturday's semifinal against either fourth-seeded Drake or fifth-seeded Missouri State at 1:30 p.m. CT.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a first half that saw 10 lead changes and 11 ties, it would be ISU seemingly taking over in the third quarter, outscoring the Racers 24-13 to hold a 64-53 lead as the game shifted to the final frame.
The Racers started the third with a 4-0 run before Illinois State responded thanks to the efforts of Wilson and Mary Crompton. From there, ISU slowly built the lead out from three all the way out to as many as 11 on two separate occasions heading into the final 10 minutes.
Murray State would not go away easily as the Racers trimmed the lead from 11 down to only four with 5:09 remaining. Then came the fourth quarter media timeout which did not slow down the Racers, as they eventually tied the game off a Katelyn Young shot in the paint with 3:30 remaining.
The remainder of the game did not see any lead bigger than three as the game winded down to the final seconds. Well, as luck would have it, none other than Maya Wong would step to the line to hold a chance to give ISU the late lead. The Normal native knocked down both shots, giving ISU the final two-point margin, which stood until the final whistle.
IN THE BOX SCORE
- Illinois State improves to 27-26 all-time in the Valley Tournament, including 12-12 in quarterfinal round games. The Redbirds will make their second straight appearance in the MVC semifinals on Saturday.
- Crompton surpassed Dayna Fitch of Creighton on the MVC all-time leader board for three-pointers, standing with 297 career makes in her career.
- Crompton's three pointers moves her single season total to 83, only six behind tying Katie Broadway's single season record of 89 during the 2011-12 season. Â
UP NEXT
The 'Birds take on either #4 Drake or #5 Missouri State in the Missouri Valley semifinals tomorrow. Tip-off for the Redbirds is slated for 1:30 p.m. at Vibrant Arena and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
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.
