Redbirds Sweep Season Series With Sycamores With 85-69 Road Win

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – It was a light crowd in attendance at the Hulman Center on Sunday, as a winter storm caused many fans to stay home and forced several games around the league to be changed. However, Illinois State and Indiana State took the court and the Redbirds (11-9, 5-4 MVC) controlled the contest from the get go to secure the regular season sweep over the Sycamores (6-13, 2-7 MVC).

HOW IT HAPPENED 
•    The Redbirds jumped out to an 8-2 lead just under two minutes into the contest, before the Sycamores rallied to get the deficit down to one at 10-9 with 7:46 left to play in the first quarter. 
•    A jumper by Doneelah Washington would then put the Redbirds up by four at 13-9 as the furious pace to start the game continued, but once again the Sycamores answered with a bucket to cut it to two. A three-pointer by Jaeden Pratt would extend the Redbirds' lead to 16-11 and it would continue to grow to 22-13 after a pair of free throws by Madison Austin with just over three minutes left on the clock.
•    The run would continue for the Redbirds as the lead grew to 26-13 on a fastbreak layup by Trista Fayta, before the Sycamores snapped a scoreless streak with a buck with under two minutes left in the opening quarter. A steal and a fastbreak layup by Washington would be a cap on the first 10 minutes of action as ISU took a 28-17 lead into the second quarter. 
•    The Redbirds broke the game open in the second quarter, using an 11-0 run with six points from Washington and a three-pointer by Grace Nelson to balloon the lead to 41-22 with 3:32 left before halftime. The Sycamores would end the half on a little run to cut the ISU lead to 16 points at the break at 47-31.
•    ISU opened the third quarter on a 6-0 run, with four-straight points from Washington to push her over 20 points on the contest, and the lead grew to 59-35 after Fayta found Washington in the paint with just over five minutes left in the third. The lead would grow to as many as 27 points at 64-37 with 3:53 left in the quarter after a pair of free throws by Nelson, but the Sycamores would chip away at the deficit the rest of the quarter to send the game to the fourth with the score 69-45.
•    Addison Martin scored six straight points for the Redbirds to start the fourth quarter and Washington picked up a bucket with just over five minutes left in the contest as the Redbirds maintained a 77-56 lead at the final media time out of the contest.
•    Indiana State would rally to trim the deficit to under 20 points at 83-66 with under a minute to play, but the Redbirds would hold on for the 85-69 victory over the Sycamores.

HIGHLIGHTS 
•    With the win, the Redbirds have now won four out of their last five games and return home for a pair of games next week with a 9-0 mark at CEFCU Arena.
•    The 37 free throws made by the Redbirds set a new school record, topping the previous mark of 32 made against Missouri in 1996. ISU attempted 43 free throws, which was one shy of the school record of 44 set against UNI in 2004 and overall shot 86 percent from the stripe on the day.
•    The Redbirds dominated the paint with 42 points and scored 26 points off turnovers in the contest against the Sycamores.
•    Washington set a new career high with 30 points, as she became the first Redbirds to score 30 points since Shannon Dowell scored 37 against Troy in the WNIT tournament last year. The 20 plus point effort was her fifth in the last seven games for the Redbirds.
•    Washington just missed out on her third double-double in the last five games, as she finished with nine boards in the win to go along with two steals and a blocked shot.
•    With her 12 points, Martin has now finished in double figures in all but one game this season and she rounded out her game with six rebounds and four assists for ISU.
•    Fayta rounded out the Redbirds in double figures with 10 points and nearly recorded a double-double of her own with seven assists and five steals.

UP NEXT 
The Redbirds return home this week for a pair of games at CEFCU Arena. ISU will host UNI on Thursday at 6 p.m., before hosting its annual Play4Kay game on Sunday at 2 p.m. against Bradley.

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