SAN JUAN – Illinois State held an 11-point lead early in the third quarter against East Carolina, but the Redbirds (4-3) could not hold onto that advantage and the Pirates (3-4) rallied for a 73-66 victory over the Redbirds at the Puerto Rico Shootout on Thanksgiving day at Coliseo Guillermo Angulo in San Juan.
HOW IT HAPPENEDÂ
•   ECU jumped out to a 4-0 lead, before back-to-back layups by Doneelah Washington tied the game halfway through the first quarter. The Redbirds would then go up by four on a three-pointer by Jaeden Pratt with 3:12 left, while back-to-back jumper by Addison Martin kept it a four-point advantage for the Birds with under two minutes left.
•   The Redbirds would lead by one after the first 10 minutes of action but a three-pointer by Bella Finnegan would push the lead back to four points at 18-14 just a minute into the second quarter. Finnegan's second three-pointer of the contest would push the Redbird lead to 24-16 with 6:19 remaining before the break. The three-point barrage would continue as Kya Hurt extend the ISU lead to its biggest at the time at nine at 29-20 with 4:20 left in the second quarter.
•   ECU trimmed the lead to five after taking advantage of three-straight ISU turnovers, before Hurt would drill a 15-footer to push the Redbird advantage back to 31-24 with just over a minute to play and that is where it would stay as the two teams headed to the locker room at halftime.
•   Finnegan came out firing to start the third quarter, scoring five-straight points on her third three-pointer of the game and a jumper to push the ISU advantage to 36-27 just 90 seconds into the second half. The lead would grow to 11 on four-straight points by Doneelah Washington and after a three-point play by ECU, Washington would score on a layup to push the lead back to 42-32 with 6:50 remaining in the quarter.
•   The Pirates would then go on a 9-0 run to cut the Redbird lead to just one at 42-41 before the media timeout with 4:35 to go in the third quarter. They would take advantage of a four-plus minute field goal drought by the Redbird to take the lead at 47-45 with 2:44 left in the third quarter. The Redbirds would not make a field goal for the remainder of the third quarter, but a pair of free throws by Pratt with 25 seconds left gave the Redbirds the lead back at 51-49 headed to the fourth quarter.
•   The two teams traded the lead over the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, with a layup by Washington tying the game at 58-58 with 4:54 left in the game. However, ECU would go on a 7-0 run to go up 65-58 with 3:10 left on the clock.
•   A three-pointer by Trisa Fayta would break a near four-minute stretch without a bucket for the Redbirds and cut the Pirates lead to 67-63 with just 51 seconds left to play. A three-pointer by Finnegan would then cut the ECU lead to two at 68-66 with 37 seconds left, but that would be as close as the Redbirds would get as the Pirates made five free throws down the stretch to ice the game at 73-66.
HIGHLIGHTSÂ
•   Illinois State outrebounded East Carolina in the contest 43-30, but the Pirates were able score 17 points off Redbird turnovers in the contest.
•   Addison Martin finished in double figures for the seventh-straight game to start the year, as she recorded her second double-double of the year with 11 points and 10 rebounds to pace a trio of Redbirds in double figures.
•   Washington led all scorers with 17 points and added eight rebounds, while Finnegan tied her season best with 16 points including four makes from beyond the arch.
•   Fayta also put together a solid game for the Redbirds, with eight points, seven rebounds and six assists against ECU.Â
UP NEXTÂ
The Redbirds will wrap up action at the Discover Puerto Rico Shootout on Friday morning at 9 a.m. CT against Wake Forest 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.
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