 With the win, ISU advances to the semifinals for the fourth time in
the last five years. The Redbirds will face the winner of No. 4
Creighton and No. 5 Missouri State on Saturday at 1:05 p.m.
Cirone's 27 points, which she also scored this season at Southern
Illinois, were one shy of her career best of 28. She was 8-of-16
from the field, 8-for-11 from the free-throw line, and also had five
rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal. Freshman guard Shala
Jackson had 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds in her first
conference tournament game. Sophomore guard Maggie Krick added 14
points and four assists.
It was Illinois State's effort in the second half that produced
the victory. ISU outscored SIU 47-32 in the frame and shot 61.5
percent from the field (16-for-26). Cirone, Jackson and Krick
combined for 39 of ISU's 47 points in the second half.
With Southern Illinois ahead by 10 points in the second half,
Illinois State went on a 26-6 run over the span of eight minutes,
during which the Salukis had just one field goal. Southern Illinois
made just four field goals in the final 12 minutes of the game.
"I am really proud of the way the players handled adversity
today," said head coach Robin Pingeton. We really didn't find our
rhythm offensively in the first half, and that hurt us. Our shots
started to fall in the second half and that allowed us to use our
full-court press more, and that made the difference in our comeback.
With that defensive pressure, we could get out and run more."
Illinois State struggled from the field in the early going,
shooting just 3-for-10 in the first five minutes. Southern Illinois
wasn't hindered at all, making five of its first six shots and three
free throws to take an 14-6 lead. Although the Redbirds continued to
shoot poorly from the field, seven straight free throws and tough
defense allowed them to tie the game, 19-19, just under the
10-minute mark.
Southern Illinois guard Erin Pauk scored four straight points to
help the Salukis pull back ahead 25-20, as Illinois State suffered
through another scoring drought of more than four minutes. Cirone
made ISU's first 3-pointer of the day to cut the deficit back to two
points, but Sales answered with a jumper on SIU's next possession. A
jumper by freshman Jackson cut the deficit back down to one point,
28-27, with just under three minutes left, but ISU could not take
the lead. Southern Illinois had the lead at halftime, just as it did
in the three regular-season games.
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Cirone pulled the Redbirds within two with a 3-pointer early in
the second half, but SIU guard Ellen Young scored six points in less
than a minute, including two transition layups, and assisted on
another fast-break score to increase the SIU lead to double digits,
47-37, with 14:05 remaining.
After the two teams traded baskets, Cirone led the Redbirds on a
12-2 run to tie the game at 51-51 with nine minutes left. Cirone had
three straight jumpers and threw a long outlet pass to Jackson, who
finished the fast-break layup as she was fouled and then made the free
throw. ISU forced SIU into a shot clock violation and Krick knotted
the game with a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
The two teams traded free throws and the Cirone-Jackson
fast-break connection struck again to give ISU its first lead since
the opening bucket, 55-53. The lead continued to grow as Krick made
a deep 3-pointer and senior guard Tiffany Hudson cut through the
lane for a layup. Cirone then made another 3-pointer from the left
corner and Jackson scooped in a driving layup to put the 'Birds
ahead by double digits, 65-54.
Sales completed a 3-point play that snapped a five-minute
scoreless streak for SIU and cut the deficit down to seven points,
67-60. The Redbirds maintained at least a seven-point cushion the
rest of the way. Cirone had a chance to set a new career high when
she went to the free-throw line with 56 seconds left but missed both
shots.
[Text from file received from
Jimmy Knodel,
assistant media relations director,
Illinois
State University]
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