 The victory improved
ISU's winning streak to 14 games, the second-longest in school
history and currently the second-longest in the nation. No. 1
Connecticut currently owns the longest winning streak in the nation
at 20 games.
Bracey's career-high 24 points came via a career-best 10 field
goals. The Oak Park native also recorded a career-high six assists.
Bracey was joined in double digits by three other Redbirds, as
junior guard Kristi Cirone scored 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting from
the field, while senior guard Tiffany Hudson and sophomore center
Nicolle Lewis chipped in with 12 points each.
Jill Martin led Drake with 31 points on 12-for-21 shooting from
the field. Martin's 31 points were the most allowed by an ISU
opponent since Northern Iowa's Tara King scored 31 points against
the Redbirds Feb. 25, 2007.
Head coach Robin Pingeton was proud of the way the Redbirds
played Thursday and was particularly impressed with Bracey's
performance.
"Ashleen did a great job tonight, and she had a very solid game
for us," said Pingeton. "Her teammates often reminded her that this
is why you work hard all summer long. She has certainly put in the
time, and she was quite a force for us tonight.
"It was a hard-fought game, and I thought our team showed
tremendous poise and toughness. I give them a lot of credit for
that, but we certainly have a lot of things that we need to work on.
We were able to weather the storm and found a way to pull it out
when it mattered."
After Drake pushed an early double-digit lead by Illinois State
back down to single digits (21-14) just before the second media
timeout (7:57) of the first half, a traditional 3-point play by
Bracey near the three-minute mark of the period gave ISU its second
double-digit lead (34-24) of the half. The offensive momentum was
short-lived for Illinois State, as the Bulldogs went on a 7-2 run
over the final two minutes and 48 seconds of the half to cut the ISU
lead to just three points (36-33) at halftime.
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The second half for the Redbirds started much the same as the
first stanza: with a Redbird making an early 3-point basket. This
time, it was Cirone's turn to key an early ISU run, as the Chicago
native drilled a 3 from the top of the arc just after the one-minute
mark of the half. After being held to just two points in the first
half on a 0-for-5 effort from the field, Cirone followed her 3-point
basket with a layup that forced Drake into its first timeout at the
17:32 mark.
Once again, the game turned into a back-and-forth scoring effort,
as Drake went on an 11-3 spurt late in the second half and took as
much as a nine-point lead (66-57). After the Redbirds got to within
one point (75-74), Jordann Plummer missed both free throws with just
10.1 seconds remaining in the game, which set ISU up for a chance at
a last-second victory. Bracey was fouled with just over one second
left in the game, which put her at the free-throw line with
four-tenths of a second left in the game. Bracey connected on just
one of her free-throw attempts, and the game went into overtime.
The Redbirds started strong in the extra period, as Cirone and
Bracey contributed five points early on to take an 80-75 lead. After
Drake pushed back to within one point (82-81), Krick nailed a
3-pointer, her second of the game, and gave the Redbirds all the
momentum they needed to hold on for the victory.
Illinois State will open the month of February at home Saturday,
as the Redbirds play host to Creighton. The game will mark a special
night for Illinois State Athletics, as former Redbird head women's
basketball coach and Illinois State Athletics Hall of Famer Jill
Hutchison will be honored prior to the 7:05 p.m. tipoff.
[Text from file received from
Keith Trivitt,
media relations graduate assistant,
Illinois
State University]
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