 The Redbirds will make their fifth trip to the NCAA tournament and
their first since winning the conference tournament crown in 2005.
ISU will find out its NCAA tournament fate when the field of 64 is
announced on ESPN at 6 p.m. Monday. (See
article.)Junior guard Kristi
Cirone was named the MVP after scoring a game-high 20 points in the
final and averaging 18.7 points per game over the three days. Cirone
was 5-for-6 from the free-throw line against the Bulldogs, and her
first two foul shots of the game made her the Illinois State
all-time leader in the category, moving her past Katie Donovan.
Sophomore forward Ashleen Bracey recorded her second consecutive
double-double, with 14 points and 16 rebounds, which tied her career
high and the ISU MVC tournament single-game high. Bracey averaged
13.0 points per game and collected 37 rebounds in the three games,
the most a player has had in the conference tournament.
Sophomore guard Maggie Krick, the Redbirds' third all-tournament
selection, added 14 points and three assists against Drake. Senior
guard Tiffany Hudson scored nine points, and sophomore forward
Kenyatta Shelton pulled down eight rebounds, including six on the
offensive end.
The Bulldogs started the game shooting well from long range,
making their first three 3-pointers, and held a 15-10 lead at the
13:21 mark. Consecutive three-point plays gave Drake a nine-point
cushion, but Hudson answered with ISU's first 3-point field goal of
the game to snap a 3:25 scoreless streak and cut the score to 21-15.
Trailing by eight, Illinois State used a 9-2 run over a
four-minute span to pull within one, 27-26. Drake guard Lindsey
Whorton hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to stop the Redbird
run and snap a streak of more than four minutes that Drake was
without a field goal. Cirone scored the next four points for the
Redbirds, including the record-setting free throws, and ISU was down
by one point, 31-30, with 2:18 remaining. The two teams traded
baskets over the remainder of the half, including a layup by senior
center Lashawn Johnson as the shot clock expired, and Drake held a
one-point edge at halftime, 35-34.
Bracey canned a jumper on ISU's first possession of the second
half to give the Redbirds their first lead since the beginning of
the game, 36-35. The lead grew to four points, 41-37, after Shelton
made a wide-open layup off a feed from Jackson. Whorton snapped
another four-minute Drake scoreless streak with a jumper in the
lane.
[to top of second column] |
With their lead at one point, the Redbirds reeled off a 14-3 run
to go ahead by double digits, 56-44, with just under eight minutes
left in the game. Bracey scored six straight points during the run,
with two of her layups coming after offensive rebounds. Drake
committed three offensive fouls during the stretch.
Drake managed to cut the deficit down to nine points, but Shelton
made two free throws, and after another offensive rebound by Bracey,
Krick cut through the lane for an uncontested layup to give ISU its
biggest lead of the game, 61-48. From that point, Illinois State
began to run some clock. After nearly draining the shot clock, Krick
missed a short jumper, but Shelton leapt above to Drake players to
tap it back out to her. Shelton came up big on the offensive glass
again, picking up a board after Cirone missed a free throw. She was
fouled coming down with the rebound and made one free throw to put
the 'Birds back up by 12, 64-52.
A quick 5-1 run brought Drake within eight points, 65-57, with
less than a minute left. The Bulldogs would get no closer after that
as the Redbirds made five free throws down the stretch to clinch the
victory.
[Text from file received from
Jimmy Knodel,
assistant media relations director,
Illinois
State University]
 |
