SAN JUAN, P.R. – In a wild game that featured 19 lead changes and eight ties, 40 minutes was not enough to decide the outcome between Illinois State and Rice in the first game of the Puerto Rico Shootout on Wednesday. Tied at 63 all after regulation, the Owls (4-2) outscored the Redbirds (4-2) in over time 12-9 to come away with a with a 75-72 overtime win at Coliseo Guillermo Angulo in San Juan.
HOW IT HAPPENEDÂ
•   The Redbirds jumped out to a 4-0 just under three minutes into the contest, after Addison Martin made a jumper in the paint. Just a few minutes later, Rice would take its first lead of the game at 7-6, before Martin gave the Redbirds the lead right back at 8-6 just 40 seconds later.
•   Illinois State's advantage would grow to 11-7 with 2:52 left in the first quarter, before the Owls finished the quarter on a 4-0 run to tie things at 11-11 after the first 10 minutes of play. Rice would extend the run to 6-0 to take a 13-11 advantage just seconds into the second quarter, before a three-point play by Doneelah Washington put the Redbirds back up at 14-13 with 8:55 to play.
•   Rice would then go on a 7-2 run to take a 20-14 lead with 4:06 left on the clock before halftime, before Martin made back-to-back baskets to knot the game at 20-20 with 2:43 remaining. The Owls took the lead back momentarily, before Madison Austin drilled a three-pointer with just under two minutes left at 23-22.
•   A three-point play by Rice would result in another lead change with just over a minute to play, but a late free throw by Trista Fayta would trim the Owls' lead to one at 25-24 at the break.
•   Rice would go up by as many as five points with 6:36 left to play in the third quarter, before Martin drilled a pair of free throw shots just 20 seconds later to trim the deficit to three at 31-28. The Owls' lead would grow back to five points, before Washington snapped a near four-minute field goal drought for the Redbirds to bring the score to 33-30 in favor of Rice at the media timeout with 4:44 to play in the third quarter.
•   The Redbirds took advantage of a near four-minute field goal drought by the Owls to take their first lead of the second half on a fastbreak layup by Fayta, before Rice took the lead right back. Fayta then took the lead back for ISU on a jumper to make the score 38-37 with just over two minutes remaining in the third.
•   A pair of free throws by Washington put her in double digits and ISU up by three points at 40-37 with just over a minute to play, before a pair of free throws by the Owls would trim the lead back to one. Bella Finnegan would then make a pair of free throws with 12 seconds remaining in the quarter to take a three-point lead into the final quarter of play. ISU would finish that third quarter making five of its last seven field goals.
•   Five straight-points on a jumper by Martin and a three-pointer by Washington to start the fourth quarter widened the lead to eight points at 47-39, but Rice would cut the lead to three at 51-48 after a three-pointer by Ennis with 6:07 left in regulation.
•   Rice would use a 7-0 run to take a 52-51 advantage with 5:01 left in the game, as the Redbirds went on a two-plus minute scoring drought. Kya Hurt would put an end to that, as back-to-back layups would cut the Owls' lead to 56-55 with three minutes to play.
•   Martin moved over 20 points on the day with a layup with 1:55 left to keep the Owls lead at one at 58-57, but Rice would go back up 62-58 before Hurt drilled a three-pointer with 39 seconds left in the contest to make it a one-point game once again at 62-61.
•   A free throw by Rice would give them a two-point with 11 seconds to play, but Hurt came up big again and made a layup with five seconds left to tie the game at 63-63. After turnover by the Owls, the Redbirds would get the ball back with four seconds remaining however they could not get a shot off and the game would head to overtime.
•   Rice would take the lead in overtime on a jumper by Ennis just 30 seconds in, but the Redbirds would take the lead on Washington's second three-pointer of the game at 66-65 with 3:20 to play. The back-and-forth would continue as two free throws by Rice would give them the lead, before Fayta drilled two free throws to take the lead back at 68-67.
•   A layup by Hayes with 1:30 to play would put the Owls back up by one at 71-70, but a layup by Hurt put the Redbirds back in the lead at 72-71 with just over a minute to play. Two more free throws by Rice with 43 seconds left would put the Owls back up 73-72. Two more makes from the charity stripe would put the Owls up 75-72 with six seconds left in the contest and a three-point attempt at the buzzer was no good as the Owls came away with the win.
HIGHLIGHTSÂ
•   Addison Martin led the way for the Redbirds, finishing in double figures for the sixth-straight game to start the year with a season-high 22 points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds.
•   Washington, thanks to a 2-for-3 effort from beyond the arch, finished with her fourth double-digit scoring effort of the season with 17 points and added six rebounds with a blocked shot.
•   After being held scoreless in the first half, Hurt finished the contest with 13 points including the basket that tied the game in regulation to send it to overtime.
•   Fayta rounded out a Redbird quartet in double figures with 15 points, including a 7-for-9 effort from the free throw line, and added five rebounds and a team-best three assists against the Owls.
UP NEXTÂ
The Redbirds are back in action at the Discover Puerto Rico Shootout on Thanksgiving morning at 9 a.m. CT against East Carolina at Coliseo Guillermo Angulo in San Juan.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App:Â Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
