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As soon as the ball was tipped off in the ISU-Drake Women’s Basketball MVC matchup Friday night, it was very apparent that defense was what was going to determine the outcome of the game. After dropping two of their last three games (all on the road) Illinois State (8-8, 3-2) needed to get some energy from their home crowd to get their offense going early against Drake (9-7, 32). The first five minutes of the game was very low-scoring, much in part to both ISU’s Marley Hall and Drake’s Rachel Hackbarth. Both of these defensive minded teams kept the opposing team’s offenses from really producing. It wasn’t until MVC newcomer of the week Jamie Russell started dictating play that the lady redbirds really started to begin playing well together. A strong offensive player, Russell had 4 rebounds in the first 9 minutes allowing for the offense to try and put more points up on the board for Illinois State.
Drake’s defense was no pushover though, keeping the score low for much of the first half. The biggest lead ISU had up until the final five minutes was 4 points, and even that gap was quickly closed as Drake pulled ahead 22-21 with two minutes left in the first half. From that point on however, it was all Illinois State. The redbirds drew energy from the crowd as their offense really got clicking to go on a 9-0 run to go into the half.
Coming out of the half, it would seem the Redbirds would continue their streak, feeding off the energy of the home crowd, but it was Drake that really capitalized in the opening moments of the second half. In the first five minutes the Bulldogs were able to narrow down the ISU lead to three, making the score 37-34. It was at this point that the stingy Redbird defense seen in the first half came out picking up plenty of rebounds to keep ahead of Drake’s offense. Despite giving up four turnovers in the first seven minutes of second half play, tough play from Candace Sykes in the next five minutes really pushed ISU forward. Despite getting fouled in three point territory Sykes was able to complete her shot and knock down the free throw completing the four point play. After Drake took the ball down court and completed a layup, Sykes knocked down another three to increase the Redbirds lead.
But Drake just would not go away. Kyndal Clark started to step up for the Bulldogs by hitting back to back three point shots, as they pulled ahead by two with seven minutes left, the score being 47-45. These two teams were very evenly matched going into the final five minutes, every time one side would score, the other would respond with a basket themselves. With just under two minutes of play left Marley Hall stepped up once again putting up an easy layup to tie the score at 60-60. The score stayed the same up until the final eight seconds of play when Drake got possession of the ball due to an offensive foul from Illinois State. Narrowly avoiding a five second violation, Drake took a timeout much in part to the strong Redbird press. After the timeout Drake inbounded the ball, drove to the opposite side of the court where ISU stuffed a shot knocking the ball out of bounds. With 2.8 seconds left on the clock Drake imbounded the ball to Rachael Hackberth who missed the layup, sending the game into a five minute overtime.
Even though Rachael Hackberth missed that final shot for Drake, she made up for it to start overtime by putting in a layup. Drake quickly pulled ahead to 66-61. ISU would not let them get away with the game that easily thanks in part to that defense that had done so well earlier in the game. They pulled within three with 1:30 seconds left, kept Drake from scoring, and with just 46 seconds left Katie Broadway hit a 3-point shot, tying the game at 67-67. This got the crowd up on their feet cheering into the final seconds of the game. After missed shots from both teams, Drake found themselves inbounding the ball with 8.9 seconds left. A quick steal by Katie Broadway, a drive to the hoop, and a foul from Drake left 1.9 seconds on the clock and Broadway at the free throw line. She downed both shots giving the Redbirds a two point lead. After missing the inbound pass by Drake, the game was all but over and they were forced to foul Candace Sykes. She sunk both free throws securing the Redbird victory at 71-67.
Illinois State will look to carry momentum from this home win into their next game in Doug Collins Arena, Sunday at 2:05pm versus MVC foe Creighton.
Redbird Basketball is back!
WZND is ready for all Illinois State athletics, but be sure to tune in to the Red Zone every Thursday night at 6:30 for the latest sports updates. WZND will bring you live coverage of every home Redbird Men’s and Women’s Basketball game during the 2011-2012 season.
Thanks to Avanti’s Restaurant for its’ sponsorship of Redbird basketball, and also to our listeners for tuning in to all the great moments from ISU football and basketball, only on WZND – the Pulse of Redbird Nation!
Illinois State junior Chris McIntyre discusses his incredible battle with cancer and his performance on the field.
NORMAL, IL. – An attendance of 4,601 people watched Redbirds head coach Tim Jankovich record victory number 100 tonight in a 79-75 win against Oakland University. With this win, Jankovich became the fifth coach in ISU history to win 100 games with the Redbird
Oakland star point guard Reggie Hamilton came into the game as the nation’s leading scorer, averaging nearly 25 a game. Hamilton started off hot as he scored 10 of the team’s first 14 points while shooting 50%. Oakland guard Travis Bader also had a big first half with 16 points, shooting 5-of-6 from behind the arc. Despite many alley-oops and tip-slams by Redbird forward Jon Ekey, the Redbirds never seemed to be able to even up the score as Hamilton and Bader would silence the crowd after any sense that the momentum was in ISU’s favor.
Ekey kept the Redbirds in reach in the first half with dunks and by knocking down a big three-pointer with 4:18 left on the clock. In 15 minutes of playing time, Ekey led all Redbirds in points in the first half with 12 and recorded seven rebounds.
At halftime, the Redbirds were trailing the Grizzlies 43-34. ISU forward John Wilkins started off the half with two three-pointers cutting the lead to three, but Hamilton always answered the call, sinking two buckets back to back to once again to quiet the Redbirds. With 13:33 left in the game, Carmichael got the crowd on their feet with a block on Bader, who went 0-6 from three in the second half. After the block, guard Anthony Cousin fed Ekey with another alley-oop to get the Redbird deficit down to one point. The Redbirds did not take the lead away from Oakland until Bryant Allen’s step-back jumper with 10:27 left in the game.
The game would go back and forth from there with Carmichael leading the ‘Birds and Hamilton leading the Grizzlies. Momentum was even for either team until the Redbirds took the lead again with Ekey’s three-pointer. The shot was able to happen thanks to an extremely hard fought battle by Allen to steal the ball away from the Grizzlies. With 57 seconds left, Wilkins was called for goaltending, giving Oakland two points, tying up the game. On the other side, ISU forward Tyler Brown completely missed a shot attempt, but once again Allen hustled to the ball and threw it off an Oakland player keeping the possession arrow in the Redbird’s advantage.
Carmichael put in a lay-up with 17 seconds left in the game to allow the Redbirds to go up two. Hamilton, who played all 40 minutes in the game, tried to take the lead with a three-point attempt but missed. Hamilton finished the game with 34 points, while attempting 23 shots. Carmichael grabbed the rebound, bringing his total to 19 for the game. Oakland fouled Carmichael, who then sank two free-throws giving the Redbirds a four point lead with only two seconds left. Carmichael finished with his 10th double-double of the season, accumulating 25 points and 19 rebounds. Ekey tied a season high with 19 points, marking his first double digit scoring effort over the past five games.
With the victory, Illinois State improves to 14-4 overall in SEARS BracketBuster games. The Redbirds also extended their home winning streak to six. The Redbirds are in action Wednesday night at home as they take on the 23rd ranked Wichita State Shockers. The Redbirds have not beaten a nationally ranked opponent since 1983.
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The Illinois State softball team is coming off a successful tournament at the University of South Florida leaving with a 3-1 record. ISU defeated Maine 5-4 and Long Island 9-0 on Friday. On Saturday the Redbirds lost to, now No. 1 ranked, Florida 11-0 and bounced back and flip-flopped the score against Florida Gulf Coast to win 11-0.
The Missouri Valley Conference pitcher of the week, Jordan Birch, went 3-0 on the trip and was able to fan 20 batters in the process. Birch came into the game late against Maine and had a rare relief appearance where she picked up a win. She then pitched shutouts against Long Island and Florida Gulf Coast. In Birch’s two starts she only allowed 3 hits.
The Redbirds will head to Tempe, Arizona this weekend to compete in the Littlewood Classic. There will be some tough competition in this tournament. ISU will face the likes of Iowa State, Iowa and, the No. 5 ranked, Arizona State.
ISU’s first game is Friday Feb. 17, against Iowa State starting at 12:05 p.m..
NORMAL– The Illinois State Women’s basketball team took a 21-home game win streak into their contest Sunday afternoon against the Bradley Braves on Doug Collins Court in Redbird Arena.
Not only was it a big rivalry game, but this year’s war on ’74 game carried another sort of emotional aspect to the contest as it was the annual Play4Kay pink game. The ‘Birds sported pink uniforms with pink sneakers as both teams sported pink socks and headbands. The teams used the emotion for the game as it was a battle of runs.
First it was Illinois State jumping out to a 12-2 lead in the first 2:30 of the game thanks to the scoring and rebounding of Candace Sykes who finished the game with 20 points seven rebounds and added a block. When Sykes got into foul trouble the Braves took full advantage of it to tie the game at 22-22 on the steam of an 8-0 run.
Although ISU was severely out-rebounded with Sykes on the bench, it was the +6 turnover margin that ultimately helped the ‘Birds stay ahead. It was senior Katie Broadway who then stepped up with some key shooting to help the Redbirds go on an 18-10 advantage to end the first half and take a 30-40 lead into the half. Broadway finished the game with 19 points and four assists, and was one of four players in double digits for ISU.
It was the Braves offense and rebounding early in the second half that cut the ISU lead to just four, but he ‘Birds battled right back taking advantage of Bradley miscues on both ends of the court. Rebounding and turnover trends from the first half continued in the second half as the Redbirds continued to force turnovers, and ended up forcing 19 in the game.
With Katie Winge’s key outside shooting and the solid inside play of Marley Hall the ‘Birds refused to give up the lead in the second half. Their consistent defensive pressure combined with the lack of interior defense form the Braves helped Jamie Russell attack the basket late closing out the 82-63 win. The team ended up shooting an impressive 51% from the field and an even more impressive 52.6% from behind the 3-point arc.
The win over Bradley (13-12, 4-9 MVC) puts Illinois State (14-9, 9-3 MVC) in a tie with Wichita State and Missouri State for the top spot in the Missouri Valley Conference, and increased the team’s home winning streak to 22. The team’s next will see action Friday, February 17 as they will travel to Omaha, Nebraska to face the Creighton Blue Jays. Tip-off is set for 7:05 pm (CST).
NORMAL– The Illinois State Women’s basketball team met the University of Northern Iowa in a very important Missouri Valley conference matchup Friday night at Redbird Arena.
Jamie Russell, named MVC newcomer of the week for the fourth week this season Monday, came out to play hard in the matchup against the Panthers. Right from the start she played tough defense against a very good Northern Iowa team, as of late winning five of their last six games. Russell went so hard trying to get a steal at one point early in the first half she crashed into the officiating board on the sidelines. This wouldn’t slow her down, as she grabbed a steal quickly after her flop. Among this tough defense, Candace Sykes went hard to the net and had a scare as she fell hard to the ground and had to be taken out early, but returned to the crowds delight at around five minutes into the game.
Despite tough defense early on, the Panthers were able to drive hard and get up 11-8 in the first with 13:00 left in the first. The Redbirds at this point began using the full court press to try and slow them down. While pressing the Redbirds got a steal and scored to pull them back within one. In retaliation UNI began pressing right back, and really set a high pace for this physical game. As the rest of the first went on, the quick play from both sides did not slow down. It began to favor the Panthers as they got a lead of five with the score 31-26 after a three-pointer from Katelin Oney, but ISU was able to come back and pull ahead going into the half. Some more quick steals from Russell and sharpshooting from Katie Broadway led the Redbirds to a 44-38 lead at the half.
After playing great defensively in the first half, getting four of the Redbirds five steals, Russell came out strong offensively to begin the second half. After a three-point shot from Broadway to begin the game, Russell drove to the net right after to put ISU up by ten, 49-39. Northern Iowa would contest this score, Brittani Donaldson hitting a three as well to get the deficit down to 5 with the score being 51-46, but Illinois State began to run away with the game thanks to a tremendous effort from both Russell and Broadway. Russell was most definitely not afraid to shoot, playing a quick offense and knocking down some tough shots.
The Redbirds were able to gain the lead of the game with 8:50 left in regulation, with a score of 65-50. Broadway was able to increase to the lead to as high as fifteen after hitting a highly contested three-point shot. The two teams went back and forth for the next five minutes, with the Panthers slowly creeping back into the game to bring the score to 71-63 with 3:30 left in the second. The Redbirds would not let Northern get any closer to tying the game, outshooting and out-rebounding the Panthers. Sophomore Hall stepped up underneath the basket to grab a rebound and return it for two points for ISU. Another three from Broadway sealed the deal, and ISU went on to increase to lead to 16 winning the game 84-68.
The women will be back in action this Sunday afternoon, taking on MVC opponent and bitter rival Bradley. Tip-off is set for 2:05pm at Doug Collins Court.
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Tune in every Thursday night at 6:30 for ISU's only sports talk show, hosted by Joe.
