Women's Basketball

Redbirds Break into Associated Press Top 25

[January 29, 2008]  NORMAL -- After receiving votes in the Associated Press poll for 10 consecutive weeks, the Illinois State women's basketball team (17-1, 7-0 MVC) broke into the top 25 for the first time in nearly two decades. The Redbirds are ranked 24th in the nation in the poll released by the AP on Monday and are the first Missouri Valley Conference team to be ranked since 2004. It is the eighth time that ISU has been in the top 25 and the first since Dec. 12, 1988.

"This is a great recognition, and I am happy for our players who have worked so hard to put our program on the map," said head coach Robin Pingeton. "We have noticed the national attention over the past few weeks and we appreciate it, but we don't talk about it as a team. Ever since we came into this program five years ago, we wanted to be respected in the Midwest, be consistently in the top 25 and advance to the NCAA tournament. We are certainly excited about it, but it is definitely not the high point of our season. The challenge now is to sustain this success and take it above and beyond this point."

The Redbirds received 84 votes in the poll, putting them five ahead of Texas, which held on to the 25th and final spot. DePaul, the only team to beat Illinois State this season, is ranked 23rd, with 161 votes, and is the only Redbird opponent receiving votes in the poll. Undefeated Connecticut remained in the top spot for the sixth consecutive week.

The Redbirds are riding a 13-game winning streak, which is tied with the 1980-81 team for the second-longest in school history. It is also the second-longest current streak in the nation, behind Connecticut's 16 straight victories. The Redbirds are one of four one-loss teams in the country, along with Baylor, Tennessee and Wyoming. ISU is 11-0 on the road this season, which is tied with the 1983-84 squad for the program's longest road winning streak. Illinois State and Connecticut are the only two Division I teams without a road loss this season.

ISU was the only Valley team to be ranked during the 1988-89 season, coming in at No. 20 in the third poll of the year. The Redbirds made their first appearance in the poll on Nov. 25, 1976, and made consecutive appearances later that season. On March 3, 1981, Illinois State was ranked 15th in the nation, its highest ranking ever. ISU's eight weeks in the AP poll all-time are the fourth-most in valley history, behind Missouri State (52), Southern Illinois (17) and Drake (11).

For the past five weeks, Illinois State has received votes in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, earning 36 votes in last week's poll. The newest coaches poll will be released on Tuesday.

The Redbirds host Drake (12-5, 6-1 MVC) on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. in a battle of the top two teams in the Valley.

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