ISU Faces Big Final Weekend of the Regular Season

[March 06, 2008]  NORMAL -- The final weekend of Missouri Conference play has arrived and every team still has plenty to play for. Seeding for the upcoming State Farm MVC Women's Basketball Tournament is still up in the air, with four teams still in contention for the regular-season championship and three still alive for the tournament's top seed. Illinois State (22-5, 12-4 MVC) has the luxury of hosting its final two games at Redbird Arena but faces some tough competition. The Redbirds host Southern Illinois (8-18, 4-12 MVC) on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. and then welcome Evansville (19-8, 13-3 MVC) in the regular-season finale on Saturday at 2:05 p.m.

"I have been coaching for 18 years and there hasn't been a season yet where I haven't hit some bumps in the road or had some adversity," said head coach Robin Pingeton. "We have to take the last two games and learn from them, not dwell on them. All of the breakdowns we had in those games are controllable, and we can definitely fix them. This next weekend in the Valley is going to be very difficult for every team as we all try to jockey for position heading into the Valley tournament. Winning a conference championship has always been one of our goals, and we are excited to have the opportunity to do that if we take care of business."

The Redbirds-Salukis series

Illinois State leads the all-time series with in-state rival Southern Illinois 41-37. Illinois State dominated the beginning of the series, winning 22 of the first 27 games. The Salukis then rattled off 20 wins in the next 26 meetings, including a string of 11 consecutive victories. Southern Illinois is 18-23 in Normal but has won three of the last five meetings in Redbird Arena, including the last two contests. Head coach Robin Pingeton is 6-3 all-time against SIU.

The Redbirds-Purple Aces series

Illinois State holds a 16-11 edge over Evansville in the all-time series. The two teams did not play until the Purple Aces joined the Missouri Valley Conference in 1995 but have met twice annually since then. The Redbirds won the first eight games in the series before the Purple Aces claimed four straight. The last five games in the series have been won by the road team.

Redbirds still in MVC title hunt

With two games remaining on the Valley schedule, Illinois State is still in contention for the MVC regular-season title and the top seed in the Valley tournament. With first-place Evansville coming to Redbird Arena for the final game of the season, ISU controls its destiny. If the Redbirds win both of their final games, they will clinch at least a share of the regular-season crown and the top seed in the tournament. The Redbirds can afford a loss to Southern Illinois on Thursday only if Evansville loses to Indiana State as well. If the Redbirds and Aces both lose, then the Redbirds would need to beat the Aces on Saturday and hope that Creighton loses one of its last two games. For the Bluejays to have a shot at the conference crown, ISU would need to lose to Indiana State, and Evansville would need to lose both games.

Seniors honored on Saturday

Three Redbird seniors will be honored in a ceremony after the Evansville game on Saturday. Forward Tamara Butler, guard Tiffany Hudson and forward Lashawn Johnson will all be playing their final regular-season games in Redbird Arena. Four-year manager Heather Page will also be recognized.

(ISU-SIU 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]