By: ISU SPORTS INFORMATION
NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women’s basketball team came up short, after a strong second-half surge, falling to Wichita State, 46-41, Friday evening at Redbird Arena.
Illinois State (1-24, 1-13 MVC) was led by Lindsay Smith, who recorded 11 points to accompany six rebounds. Seven of those points came from the charity stripe, where L. Smith was 7-of-8 from behind the line. Wichita State (21-4, 12-1 MVC) was led by Alex Harden, who led all scorers with 17 points.
The Redbirds shot 33 percent from the field, while the Shockers found the bottom of the net on 36 percent of their shots. ISU won the three-point battle, shooting 25 percent from behind the arc, while WSU was scoreless from three-point range.
The Redbirds struggled to get their offense going in the first half, as they netted just nine points by the 5:00 mark. Illinois State’s points came from three field goals and a pair of free throws. ISU had several scoring droughts and WSU’s press forced 11 Redbird turnovers in the first 15 minutes of the game. WSU’s Harden netted 11 of Wichita State’s first 13 points, including eight-straight points to open the game.
With 1:47 left in the half, the Redbirds scored four-straight points to pull within four, 19-15, forcing a Shocker timeout, marking the first run of the game for Illinois State. Octavia Crump extended the run with a free throw, while Wichita State was scoreless for nearly four minutes. The Shockers regrouped and scored a layup with 12 seconds left before the break to take a five-point lead, 21-16, going into the locker room.
At the half, Mary Sims led the Redbirds with five points, while Taylor Stewart added four. Illinois State shot 32 percent from the field, while Wichita State connected on 37 percent of its shot attempts. Crump grabbed five boards, while L. Smith collected four to give ISU a slight advantage, pulling down 16 compared to WSU’s 15. The Redbirds had 14 turnovers in the first half, while the Shockers committed nine.
Wichita State opened the half with an 8-3 run, taking a 10-point advantage, 29-19. During WSU’s run, ISU committed four turnovers in two minutes and went scoreless for nearly four minutes. Then, the Redbirds regrouped and netted five-straight points to cut the Shocker lead to five, 29-24. ISU kept its offensive momentum going and tied the game with a three-point basket by Stewart, 37-37, with 6:49 left to play. ISU worked its way back thanks to a 13-5 run.
The Redbirds had a two-point lead, but four-straight points and free throws down the stretch gave the Shockers a 46-41 win. ISU ended the game with a four-minute scoring drought.
Illinois State returns to Doug Collins Court Sunday at 2:05 p.m., to take on Missouri State in the final home game of the regular season. ISU will honor three managers and Katy Winge at the conclusion of the game for senior night.
