 Junior guard Kristi Cirone scored a game-high 27 points, one shy of
her career high, and added seven assists. Cirone was 10-for-11 from
the free-throw line, becoming the first player to achieve the feat
since she did the same against Wichita State last season.Senior
guard Tiffany Hudson scored 17 points, including seven points in the
last three minutes, and had six assists, her fourth straight game
with at least five. Sophomore forward Ashleen Bracey recorded her
fourth double-double in the last seven games with 14 points and a
career-high 12 rebounds. Sophomore forward Kenyatta Shelton had her
best game since coming back from offseason knee surgery, with season
highs of nine points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Maggie Krick
had a season-high eight rebounds, one off her career best.
The Redbirds had a dominant performance from the free-throw line,
shooting 25-for-30 in the game, including 19-of-22 in the second
half. The Redbirds made their first 12 from the charity stripe in
the second half and connected on four straight in the final 11
seconds. The Redbirds outrebounded the Salukis 47-28, including a
27-12 margin in the second half.
"This was a great team win for us," said head coach Robin
Pingeton. "We showed great poise and stayed the course. I don't
think we have given up 42 points in a half all season, and Southern
Illinois was just more aggressive than we were in the first half.
Our game plan at halftime was very simple: We had to get in our
defensive stance, contain dribble penetration and get better
rotation. We knew that we had some more depth than they had, and
that was a big factor because they got tired down the stretch. We
take a lot of pride in our rebounding, especially on the defensive
end, and we did a much better job in the second half."
The Redbirds jumped out to a 17-8 lead in the first four minutes
with some pretty passing, picking up assists on six of their first
eight baskets. Hudson picked up two of those assists to Cirone on a
3-pointer and a layup under the basket. Saluki forward Jasmine
Gibson made her first three shots to provide six of the SIU points.
Down by eight, 21-13, Southern Illinois opened up a 21-6 run to
take its first lead of the game, 34-27, with just under seven
minutes left in the half. Southern Illinois rattled off 11
unanswered points during a four-minute stretch when the Redbirds
missed five shots and committed five turnovers.
[to top of second column]
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Cirone snapped the scoreless drought with a hard drive to the
basket and a layup through two Saluki defenders at the 4:55 mark and
started a 10-2 Redbird run to regain the lead, 37-36. Cirone added
four free throws during the spurt. Four straight free throws by the
Salukis put them back on top 40-37 with two minutes remaining. The
two teams traded baskets to close out the half, and Southern
Illinois maintained a three-point advantage at intermission, 42-39.
The Redbirds started out cold from the field in the second half,
missing their first five shots before Bracey nailed a jumper from
the left side. Fortunately, Southern Illinois was just 2-for-8 to
begin the period and could only extend its lead to 47-41. The
Redbirds went on a 13-4 run to go back ahead 54-51 with 13:08 left
in the game. ISU made six consecutive free throws during the run,
and freshman guard Shala Jackson contributed five points.
Southern Illinois came back to take a 59-58 lead, but the
Redbirds continued to make a difference from the free-throw line,
hitting another six consecutive free throws during an 8-2 spurt that
put them ahead by five, 66-61. The Salukis clawed back into the game
once again, outscoring the Redbirds 12-5 over the next five minutes
to take their fourth lead of the game, 73-71, with less than four
minutes remaining.
With the Redbirds down by one after a free throw by Shelton,
Hudson single-handedly gave the Redbirds the lead. She connected on
a 3-pointer on the top of the key and then hit a fast-break layup
off a Cirone pass to put the Redbirds on top 77-73. A jumper in the
lane by SIU forward Jayme Sweere cut the lead to two. Shelton again
made 1-of-2 free throws and SIU had a chance to tie the game with a
3-pointer, but turned the ball over for just the third time in the
half. Cirone made a pair of free throws with 11 seconds remaining,
but Sweere connected on a long 3-pointer with five seconds left to
keep the Salukis within two. Hudson was fouled immediately on the
ensuing inbounds play and iced the game with two free throws of her
own.
The Redbirds open up their home Valley schedule against Northern
Iowa on Thursday at 7:05 p.m.
(Box score)
[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] |
