 Illinois State, Evansville and Drake were all tied for the Valley
regular-season championship with 13-5 conference records through
Saturday afternoon's action. Evansville had already clinched a share
entering the day, and Drake defeated Wichita State on the road,
53-51, to grab its piece. Creighton still had a chance to claim a
share of the title with a win over Missouri State, but the Bluejays
lost 79-73 Saturday night. With Creighton's loss, ISU clinched the
No. 1 seed in the State Farm MVC Women's Basketball Tournament."I
am so proud of the way we were able to bounce back from the recent
losses and win today," said head coach Robin Pingeton. "This is a
big win for this program, athletic department and university. It has
been a while since we have won a conference title in women's
basketball, whether it's outright or shared. We have worked so hard
all season, and to win it at home on Senior Day is very satisfying."
Sophomore guard Maggie Krick led all scorers with 22 points, her
fourth 20-point effort of the season, and tied her career high with
10 field goals. Krick added a team-best seven assists, one shy of
her career best, and five rebounds. Sophomore center Nicolle Lewis
recorded her second consecutive double-double, with 11 points and a
career-high 14 rebounds. Junior guard Kristi Cirone contributed 16
points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals.
Senior guard Tiffany Hudson made her first start in seven games
and made the best of her final regular-season game in Redbird Arena.
Hudson scored 17 points, aided by three 3-pointers, and tied her
career high with seven rebounds. Sophomore forward Kenyatta Shelton
posted nine points and nine rebounds for the second straight game.
Evansville guard Rebekah Parker led the Purple Aces with 20
points and four assists. Forward Robyn Jennings had a team-best nine
rebounds.
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ISU dominated the boards, outrebounding Evansville 50-30, and had
22 boards on the offensive end, one shy of the team's single-game
high this season. Six different Redbirds had at least four rebounds.
ISU's starting backcourt of Cirone, Hudson and Krick combined for 16
assists and just three turnovers.
The first half featured eight ties and 11 lead changes in the
first 14 minutes of play as the two teams battled back and forth
early on. Three straight jumpers gave the Redbirds a three-point
edge, 15-12, with 11:27 remaining in the half. After six more lead
changes and four ties, the Redbirds went on an 18-4 run to take
their first double-digit lead of the game, 44-30. Cirone Krick and
Shelton combined for 15 points during the spree and Hudson started
it all with a 3-pointer. Evansville made three free throws in the
final 1:16 of the half to produce the 44-33 halftime score.
Krick had buckets in ISU's first two possessions of the period,
and the 'Birds maintained at least a 13-point edge for the first
three minutes. After Evansville pulled within eight points, the
Redbirds answered with a 7-0 run to pull back ahead by 15 at 59-44.
The Purple Aces came right back with seven straight points of their
own to cut the deficit to eight points again, 59-51. Not to be
outdone, ISU went on another 7-0 run and led by double digits the
rest of the game.
Lewis completed a 3-point play as she was fouled down low after
taking a pass from Krick, giving ISU a 19-point advantage, its
biggest of the game, 82-63, with 2:03 remaining.
The State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball
Tournament begins Thursday at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
Illinois State will open play in the tournament on Friday. As the
No. 1 seed, the 'Birds will play at 12:05 p.m.
[Text from file received from
Jimmy Knodel,
assistant media relations director,
Illinois
State University] |
