ISU falls to Drake 56-54 in Valley tournament

[March 10, 2012]  ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Katie Broadway scored 20 points, but a turnover late in the game hurt the Illinois State women's basketball team (18-2, 13-5 MVC), as ISU fell to Drake (17-14, 9-9 MVC) 56-54 on Friday at the 2012 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Family Arena.

Only four Redbirds scored in the loss, as Candace Sykes recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Marley Hall added 11 points and Jamie Russell had six. Chloe Nelson and Russell each finished the game with four assists. Russell also recorded five steals. Drake brought down 31 boards, compared with Illinois State's 27. The Bulldogs connected on 52.1 percent of their shots from the field, while the Redbirds made 38.2 of their attempts.

Sykes hit a 3 from the top of the key in the first possession for ISU, but Drake warmed up quickly and went on a 7-0 run to take a 7-3 lead, while Illinois State was scoreless for four minutes. ISU answered back with a 7-0 run of its own, giving the Redbirds a three-point lead, 10-7, with 12:57 left to play in the opening half. The two teams traded baskets and were tied at 14 points when ISU went on a 12-5 run to give the Redbirds a five-point lead, at 24-19, with 4:35 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs finished the first half on a 6-2 run, as the Redbirds headed into the locker room with a two-point lead, 27-25.

Broadway and Sykes each scored nine points in the first half, while Broadway led the team with three boards. Russell had four assists, three steals and one block in the opening half. ISU shot 46.2 percent from the field, while Drake made 45.8 percent of its shots. The Bulldogs had the 18-10 advantage on the boards, while the Redbirds scored 14 points off 11 Drake turnovers.

The Redbirds and the Bulldogs exchanged points until Illinois State went on a 5-0 run with a Broadway 3 and a pair of free throws from Russell to take a six-point lead, 39-33, with 14:33 left to play. Broadway hit two straight shots from beyond the arc as ISU took an eight-point advantage over Drake, 46-38, with just under 11 minutes left to play. That was ISU's largest lead of the game.

After ISU grabbed the eight-point lead, Drake used a 14-4 run to regain the lead at 52-50 with just under two minutes to play. The Redbirds tied the game with a jumper by Hall, but a shot by Kyndal Clark with eight seconds left put Drake up by two, 56-54. Illinois State had one last chance, but a Redbird turnover didn't allow a shot to get off, and ISU fell to Drake 56-54.

(Box score)

[Text from file received from Illinois State]