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Women's
Basketball
ISU
Visits Ball State on Tuesday Night
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[December 04, 2007]
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Illinois
State women's basketball team (6-1) continues its road trip with a
game at Ball State (3-4) Tuesday evening at 6:05 CST. With hopes of
continuing their winning ways as well, the Redbirds will look for
their second consecutive victory over a team from the Mid-American
Conference and their first-ever at Worthen Arena.
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Illinois State is off to its best start in 31 years, thanks to a
high-powered, versatile offense that is averaging 78.3 points per
game and is outscoring opponents by more than 15 points per game.
Four Redbird guards are averaging double figures in scoring, and
three players have positive assist-to-turnover ratios. ISU's
offensive prowess has not been more evident than in the last two
games, as the Redbirds have not trailed at any point and have led by
double digits in a combined 51:40 of the 80 minutes between the two
contests.
"Our offense has a lot of weapons, which means we can afford for
players to have off nights," head coach Robin Pingeton said. "I was
really proud of our defensive effort against Eastern Michigan,
though, especially in the second half. They had a great guard in
Alyssa Pittman, and we were able to make some adjustments at
halftime to take her out of the game."
The two-game road trip started out well for ISU with a 79-61 win
over Eastern Michigan on Sunday. Senior guard Tiffany Hudson scored
a career-high 24 points and was complemented by her backcourt mate,
junior Kristi Cirone, who added 20. (See
article.)
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In a series that began in 2001, Ball State holds a 3-2 all-time
advantage over Illinois State. The Cardinals have won both meetings
in the series at Worthen Arena, in 2003 and 2005. Pingeton has faced
Ball State every season she has been at ISU and has a 2-2 all-time
record against the Cardinals. Last season, the Redbirds withstood a
furious second-half comeback by Ball State for an 82-72 win. Despite
leading 42-21 at halftime, Illinois State saw the Cardinals charge
back and cut the deficit to three points with just 36 seconds left.
Cirone sealed the victory with seven free throws in the waning
seconds.
Ball State is coming off double-digit losses at Temple, 72-48,
and at Valparaiso, 66-54. The Cardinals have played only nine
players all season, and their starters are all averaging more than
29 minutes per game. Senior guard Julie DeMuth, a First-Team All-MAC
selection last season, once again leads the Cardinals in scoring
(14.7 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 ppg). Junior guard Porcia Green (12.0
ppg) and sophomore guard Audrey MacDonald (10.6 ppg) are the other
two Cardinals with double-figure scoring averages.
Tuesday's game will be the last for the Redbirds for nearly two
weeks as the student-athletes prepare for and take their final
exams. ISU will return to the court at Miami of Ohio on Dec. 16 at
1:05 p.m. CST.
[Text from file received from
Jimmy Knodel,
assistant media relations director,
Illinois
State University] |
