Women's Basketball

First-Place Redbirds Visit Missouri State, Wichita State

[January 24, 2008]  NORMAL -- Illinois State (15-1, 5-0 MVC) sits alone in first place in the Missouri Valley Conference and is on the road for its first two-game road swing in three weeks. The Redbirds visit Missouri State (6-11, 4-2 MVC) on Friday at 7:35 p.m. That game is the "Valley Game of the Week" and will be broadcast live on FSN Midwest, with Mitch Holthus and former Redbird women's basketball coach Jill Hutchison providing the commentary. ISU then travels to Wichita State (6-12, 0-6 MVC) to close out the road trip on Sunday at 2:05 p.m.

"We aren't even halfway through the conference schedule yet, but we have done some very good things and had success," said head coach Robin Pingeton. "It is important at this point in the season to maintain focus and intensity. We have shortened up some practices and even had two days off earlier in the week, which helps the players do just that. We aren't naïve enough to think that we can't be beaten by any team in this conference on any given night, especially on the road, and we welcome the challenges that lie ahead."

The Redbirds-Lady Bears series

Missouri State leads the all-time series with Illinois State 30-22. The Redbirds won 12 of the first 17 meetings, including the first six consecutive. Since then, the Lady Bears have posted a 25-10 record against the Redbirds, including winning streaks of five, six and 11 games. ISU did sweep the season series last year and has a chance to win back-to-back road games over Missouri State for the first time since 1988-89 and three consecutive games for the first time in nearly 20 years. The Redbirds are 4-6 against the Lady Bears under Pingeton.

The Redbirds-Shockers series

Illinois State leads the all-time series with Wichita State 32-18. The Redbirds hold a 14-11 advantage in road games against the Shockers. Illinois State dominated the series early on, winning 16 of the first 18 meetings. Wichita State's longest winning streak was four games from 2000-01. The two teams split the season series last year, with each defending its home court. Under Pingeton, ISU has a 5-3 record against Wichita State.

Redbirds receive national attention

Illinois State's strong start to the season has garnered some national attention. ISU has received votes in the last 10 Associated Press Top 25 polls. In the poll released on Monday, the Redbirds received a season-high 53 votes, the 27th-most in the nation. The last time Illinois State was ranked in the AP poll was Dec. 5, 1988, when they came in at No. 20. For the past four weeks, ISU has received votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, and received 36 votes in the Tuesday poll, the 28th-most in the nation. On Wednesday, in the latest CollegeRPI.com rankings, Illinois State came in at 32, the highest Valley team, and has been as high as 22 this season.

Cirone ranks among the nation's best point guards

Having already made her mark in the Valley in her first two seasons, junior guard Kristi Cirone has emerged as one of the elite point guards in the nation this season. Cirone ranks second in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.97), 10th in assists per game (6.3), 75th in scoring (16.9), 78th in field goal percentage (.500), 31st in 3-point field goal percentage (.421) and 49th in free-throw percentage (.839). Cirone and Maryland guard Kristi Tolliver are the only two players ranked in the top 100 in all six of those categories, and of the nation's assist leaders, those two have the second-highest scoring average. Cirone is one of four players in the top 25 in assist-to-turnover ratio, with more than 100 assists, and she and Boston guard Christine Kinneary are the only two players in the top 10 in assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio.

Let it rain!

Illinois State leads the Valley in 3-point field goal percentage (.412) and is tied for second in 3-point field goals made (35) during conference play. Freshman guard Shala Jackson and junior guard Kristi Cirone are the top two 3-point shooters early on in conference play, with .600 and .542 shooting percentages, respectively.

(Game notes) [To download Adobe Acrobat Reader for the PDF file, click here.]

[Text from file received from Jimmy Knodel, assistant media relations director, Illinois State University]