Women's Basketball

Redbirds Beat Evansville in Valley Opener

[January 04, 2008]  EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Just as the team did last season, Illinois State (11-1, 1-0 MVC) won its Missouri Valley Conference opener, beating Evansville (5-6, 0-1 MVC) 75-67 at Roberts Stadium on Thursday. The Redbirds extended their season-best winning streak to seven games and improved to 7-0 on the road this year. Junior guard Kristi Cirone paced the 'Birds with 21 points, 17 of which came in the second half, and six assists.

Senior center Nicolle Lewis scored 18 points, pulled down seven rebounds and had a game-high three blocked shots. Lewis scored 14 points in the first half on a perfect 7-for-7 performance from the field. Freshman guard Shala Jackson added 11 points, including eight in the second half. Sophomore forward Ashleen Bracey chipped in seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds -- her fourth double-digit rebounding effort of the year.

The Redbirds withstood several Evansville runs for their third win over the Purple Aces in the last four meetings. A pivotal 22-6 ISU run in the second half proved to be the turning point as Evansville was poised to complete the comeback victory. The Redbirds had a season-high 19 turnovers that led to 24 Evansville points.

"We were looking down there for a little while, but after a timeout the players came out and responded really well," said head coach Robin Pingeton. "They raised their level of play, and you have to give them a ton of credit for doing that, especially on the road. Some of our teams in the past haven't been able to do that. (Freshman guard) Shala Jackson had a tremendous second half. My expectations of her are pretty high because I think she has so much potential. She really responded after halftime and made a huge difference in that run we put together."

Lewis made three jumpers to start the game and give the Redbirds a 6-4 lead. They then moved the ball outside as senior guard Tiffany Hudson, sophomore guard Maggie Krick and Jackson all made 3-pointers to extend the ISU lead to double digits, 21-11, at the 12:45 mark. Evansville tried to come back with an 11-4 run that cut the deficit down to three points, 25-22. The Redbirds held the Purple Aces at bay by outscoring them 12-7 to close out the half and take a 37-29 lead into the locker room.

ISU shot 61.5 percent from the field (16-26) in the first half, the best shooting percentage the 'Birds have had in a period this season. After combining for 47 points in the first 12 minutes of the half, defense and turnovers took over for both teams, and just 19 points were scored in the final eight minutes.

Evansville forward Shannon Novosel made back-to-back 3-pointers to start the second half and bring the Purple Aces within a basket, 37-35. After a layup by Hudson and a 3-point play by Cirone, Evansville answered with seven straight points to tie the score for the first time since the 16:58 mark of the first half, 42-42. Evansville erased a 12-point deficit in just over six minutes, spanning both halves.

A layup and a 3-pointer by Novosel on consecutive possessions gave Evansville just its second lead, 51-46, with 10 minutes remaining in the game. The Redbirds went more than four minutes without a field goal, missing six consecutive shots, four of which were from 3-point range.

That Evansville lead didn't last long, as the Redbirds regained their shooting touch and made their next seven shots during a 22-6 run to regain a 68-57 advantage. Cirone scored 12 points during the run, including a trio of 3-pointers, and Jackson added six points over the stretch.

The Purple Aces answered yet again with a 9-1 run over the next two minutes. After five minutes without a field goal, guard Rebekah Parker made a 3-pointer and a jump shot on consecutive possessions, and Evansville was down just three points, 69-66, with 1:32 left in the game.

Novosel missed a pair of free throws that would have cut the ISU lead down to a point with a minute left in the game. Cirone Hudson and Bracey each made a pair of free throws down the stretch to ice the game for the Redbirds.

Illinois State continues its Valley road trip at Southern Illinois on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 2:05 p.m.

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