The Basics ? It's No. 1 versus No. 2 in the Missouri Valley Conference on Saturday afternoon as Indiana State and Illinois State renew their rivalry with an important league contest to tip off the second half of conference play for both squads. A national television audience awaits as the Sycamores look to complete a rare season series sweep of the Redbirds. Tip-off is set for 2:05 p.m. (EDT).
Illinois State Series Notes ? Illinois State continues to hold an advantage in the all-time series against Indiana State, with the Redbirds holding a 38-34 record versus the Sycamores. At Normal, the ?Birds own a 22-16 lead in the series and won last season's meeting at Redbird Arena by a 77-70 count. Earlier this season, the Sycamores earned a hard-fought 72-65 victory over the ?Birds while each team was missing a key player due to injury. The Sycamores were without senior guard Leah Phillips (ACL) while junior guard Maggie Krick (hand) missed the game for the Redbirds. Phillips remains out while Krick has returned the action for Illinois State. This Illinois State/Indiana State series is always one of the most entertaining in the league as the road team has emerged victorious in four of the last six series meetings. In 69 meetings between the two schools that were not at neutral sites, the road time has emerged the victor 30 times or just over 43 percent of the time.
On The Air ? Saturday afternoon's contest can be seen live nationally on ESPNU. Dan McLaughlin (play-by-play) and Jill Hutchison (analyst) have the call. The game can be seen in the Terre Haute area on Time Warner Cable ? Channel 152; DirecTv ? Channel 614 and Dish Network ? Channel 148. The game can also be heard live on WSDM 92.7 FM in the Wabash Valley. Brent Holl calls the action while Ace Hunt provides color commentary. The game can also be heard live via the internet at crock927.com and GoSycamores.com. The Jim Wiedie Coaches' Show airs on Tuesday nights with the next broadcast coming on February 10 live on ESPN Radio 1300 AM at 6:30 p.m.
About The Indiana State Coach ? Indiana State head coach Jim Wiedie is in his ninth year at the helm of the Sycamore women's basketball program. The 2003 and 2006 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year, Wiedie led the Sycamores to the conference's outright regular season championship in 2006 and has guided ISU into the postseason in three of the last five years. He is 152-101 at Indiana State and is 11-8 versus the Redbirds. Wiedie owns a 5-4 record while on the road against Illinois State, including a meeting in the Championship Game of the 2005 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Wiedie possesses 93 career league wins which is seventh-most in the history of The Valley. With the Sycamores' 63-37 victory over Southern Illinois on January 22, Wiedie became just the second coach in the history of the program to record at least 150 career victories. He needs just six more victories to break the school record for career coaching victories.
About The Illinois State Coach ? Illinois State is led by sixth-year head coach Robin Pingeton who is 106-69 at the Normal, Ill., school. Pingeton is 3-3 against Indiana State inside Redbird Arena.
Wiedie In Conference Games ? 2008-09 marks the ninth conference season for Jim Wiedie at the helm of the Sycamores. In The Valley, Wiedie is 93-60, highlighted by his 16-2 championship season in 2005-06 as well as a pair of 13-5 finishes in 2002-03 (shared regular season title) and 2004-05. At Hulman Center, Wiedie is nearly unstoppable, boasting a 59-17 mark in regular season home MVC games, including three 8-1 seasons. In two of the past three seasons, Wiedie led the Sycamores to back-to-back eight win conference home records. Wiedie's 93 Missouri Valley Conference victories are the most conference triumphs by a Sycamore head coach, and are also the most by any active coach in the league. His 93 career MVC victories rank seventh all-time in Valley history. He is now 16 MVC victories away from tying long-time Creighton head coach Connie Yori for sixth place. Indiana State is currently riding a nine-game MVC home winning streak, which is the second-longest in the history of the program. The Sycamores captured 14 consecutive home league contests between the 2004-05 & 2005-06 seasons.
Wiedie In Non-Conference Games ? The Sycamores have compiled a 51-30 record in regular season non-conference games under Jim Wiedie, including a 24-7 mark in regular season non-conference games played at Hulman Center.
Quick Hits ? The Sycamores have trailed at the half in 13 of their 20 games this season, winning a school record four such contests ... ISU is 7-0 when leading at the half ... ISU has opened MVC play with a 7-2 record, which represents the school's best start since getting out of the gate 12-0 during the MVC Championship season of 2005-06 season ... Kelsey Luna has hit at least two 3-pointers in all but three games this season (Kansas State, Drake and Bradley) and is tops in the league and nation in 3-pointers per game just ahead of Bradley freshman Michelle Lund who is 22 3-pointers behind Luna's Valley freshman record of 79 3-pointers hit during the 2006-07 campaign ... Indiana State is 4-1 this season in games decided by five points or less ... Senior Kelsey Luna is 35 points away from becoming the fifth player in the history of the program to score at least 1,000 career points before the end of her junior season ... The Sycamores have lost three players to knee injuries this season (Laurence Rivest, Leah Phillips, Deja Mattox) ... Kara Schilli needs 13 more rebounds to become the 14th member of ISU's 500 rebound club.
Filling The Jar ? Freshman guard Bianca Jarrett posted back-to-back double figure scoring efforts this past weekend on the road as the Sycamores split their road swing at Northern Iowa and Bradley. Jarrett started the week by scoring 14 points as the Sycamores earned a 66-59 road victory over the Panthers. She hit 5-of-13 shots from the field, as well as a career-best 3-of-5 from 3-point range with four assists and three steals in 39 minutes of action. At Bradley, Jarrett paced the Sycamores with 15 points, hitting all six of her free throws in the game with a pair of rebounds, five assists and three steals in 32 minutes of action. For the week, Jarrett averaged 14.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals per game over the weekend split. Jarrett was 4-of-9 from 3-point range, 44.4 percent. She also hit 7-of-8 free throws, 87.5 percent.
Four In Double Figures ? Indiana State placed four scorers in double figures scoring at Northern Iowa. Paced by her 3-point shooting as well as a 7-of-8 effort at the free throw line, junior Kelsey Luna scored 20 points while Bianca Jarrett added 14. Off the bench, sophomore Kelsie Cooley hit 5-of-7 shots from the field to add 14 more and freshman Shannon Thomas posted 10 points along with six rebounds. ISU led wire-to-wire to take a 66-59 victory at the McLeod Center.
Look Who's Held Teams Under 40! Twice! ? Indiana State limited Southern Illinois to 37 points on 01/22/09, the second time this season that the Sycamores have limited a conference foe to fewer than 40 points (Drake, 38). No other MVC team has held an opponent below 40 points. In fact, the 37 points allowed are one of the all-time best marks in league history. There have been 20 all-time Gateway/Missouri Valley contests in which a team has been held to less than 40 points scored. The Sycamore defense has recorded two of those this season.
Fewest points allowed (MVC games only; <40 points only)
All-Time Valley Rank, Team points allowed, opponent (date)
1. UNI 30 v. Wichita State (1/19/08)
T4. Indiana State 34 v. Missouri State (1/22/06)
7. Missouri State 35 v. Southern Illinois (2/21/04)
T10. Indiana State 37 @ Southern Illinois (1/2/90)
T10. Indiana State 37 v. Southern Illinois (1/22/09)
T15. Southern Illinois 38 v. Indiana State (1/2/90)
T15. Indiana State 38 v. Drake (1/1/09)
3-Pointers Finally Falling ? Indiana State ranks second in the MVC and 31st nationally by averaging 6.8 3-point field goals per game. The Sycamores connected on a MVC-high 10 3-pointers against Southern Illinois, paced by three from Kelsey Luna and three more from Brittany Schoen. ISU has hit at least 10 3-pointers in four games this season, including a season-high 14 in the opener at Central Michigan.
The Fresh Faces Making An Impact! ? Indiana State's roster features seven freshmen this season and they are making an immediate impact on the Sycamore women's basketball program. Paced now by Bianca Jarrett, who is averaging 7.1 points as well as 2.6 rebounds per game, the freshmen have accounted for 498 of ISU's 1215 total points scored, or 41.0 percent. In ISU's seven MVC games the Sycamore freshmen have accounted for 277 of a total of 540 points scored, or 51.2 percent.
Kelsey Second Nationally In 3-Point Shooting ? Junior Kelsey Luna not only rules the Missouri Valley Conference with her 3.2 3-point field goal per game average, but that number also ranks second nationally according to the latest NCAA Division I statistics released this week. Luna has made 63 3-pointers this season through a total of 20 games to yield the one of the highest 3-pointers per game mark in all of NCAA Division I Women's Basketball. Her 42.3 percent 3-point field goal shooting mark is third in the MVC and 28th nationally. That 42.3 percent mark is eighth-best in the history of the program for a single season.
Gettin' Defensive ? The Indiana State Sycamores are giving up 57.6 ppg during Missouri Valley Conference play which is second best in the league this season. For the season, ISU is allowing 62.5 ppg which is the best scoring defense average for Indiana State under ninth-year head coach Jim Wiedie. ISU allowed just 38 points to Drake in the Valley season opener on New Year's Day. ISU outdid themselves last week, holding Southern Illinois to 37 points, which is the tied for the tenth-lowest point total in MVC history during a league game. There have been a total of 16 league games in the history of the conference in which a team has held the opposition to 38 points or less and ISU has accomplished that feat twice this season through just seven games of league play.
Indiana State Scoring Defense Under Head Coach Jim Wiedie
Year Scoring Defense
2008-09 62.5
2007-08 70.3
2006-07 70.0
2005-06 64.8
2004-05 64.8
2003-04 68.3
2002-03 66.9
2001-02 68.6
2000-01 71.6
Come On In! Sit A Spell! ? Indiana State is averaging 4,081 fans per home game this season at Hulman Center thanks in large part to SERVPRO Fan Appreciation Day On January 10 when 10,200 tickets were distributed to the Illinois State game. ISU's 4,081 fans per home game ranks second-best in the league behind Missouri State and is 22nd nationally.
Lunar Rising ? Junior guard Kelsey Luna continues to climb the Sycamore records book in career 3-point field goals made as she now has 204 triples, good enough for third-best ever at ISU. Luna is also 10 3-pointers from Lisa Verhoff's second place mark of 214 career triples. Kourtney Mennen is the school record holder with 256 career makes from long range. Her 204 career 3-pointers are 15th-best in the history of the Missouri Valley Conference. She needs two more to pass Illinois State's Jenny Schmidt for 14th all-time. For the season, Luna has hit 63 3-point field goals which is tied for eighth-most in the history of the program for a single season. She needs just two more to tie Leah Phillips from the 2006-07 season for seventh place.
High Five! ? Ninth-year Indiana State head coach Jim Wiedie enters Saturday's contest against Illinois State with 152 career victories, needing just five more to catch Edith Godleski and tie the school record to become the school's all-time winningest coach by both total wins and percentage. Catching Godleski would be no small feat, as she will be inducted into the Indiana State Athletics Hall of Fame this winter. Godleski coaches the Sycamores for the first 11 seasons of the program from 1971-82.
B” Leads The Way; Named Valley Newcomer of the Week ? Freshman Bianca Jarrett took home Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week honors for her efforts against both Southern Illinois and Evansville. She led Indiana State with 18 points as the Sycamores downed Southern Illinois 63-37 to open a two-game home stand winning streak this past weekend against the Salukis and Evansville. Jarrett hit 7-of-15 shots from the field and pulled down four rebounds with two assists and three steals in that victory. Against Evansville Jarrett earned her first career start and responded with her best floor game of the season as the team's starting point guard. She scored 10 points, hitting 5-of-6 free throws and pulled down five rebounds with five assists and a huge late-game blocked shot in 33 minutes of action. With just over seven minutes left against the Purple Aces, freshman Shannon Thomas went down with an ankle injury during a scrum for a loose basketball and Evansville looked to use a 5-on-4 advantage on its offensive end with the game still very much in doubt. Evansville got off three rushed shots, including one that was blocked by Jarrett before she came down with the rebound to keep the Purple Aces off the scoreboard despite having a de facto power play against the Sycamores. For the week. Jarrett averaged 14 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. She hit 9-of-22 shots from the field (40.9 percent) and connected on a pair of 3-pointers. Most importantly, Jarrett used her speed to get to the basket and was fouled on several occasions. She hit 8-of-10 free throws during the two-game stretch.
Phillips Is Fifth ? Senior captain and guard Leah Phillips went down with a knee injury in the first half of the Drake game and will finish the season with 169 career 3-point field goals made, which is fifth-best in the school record books. Her career 3-point field goal percentage of .386 is tied for seventh-best ever in the program.
Academic Run Continues ? For the seventh consecutive season, the Indiana State women's basketball program was noted for its high academic achievements under head coach Jim Wiedie. The Sycamore women's basketball team finished ranked third in the most recent Women's Basketball Coaches Association Top 25 Team Honor Roll for NCAA Division I in team grade point average with a stellar mark of 3.59.
The Last Time Out ? The Indiana State Sycamores suffered from a tough shooting effort and uncharacteristic turnovers as they fell to the Bradley Braves by a score of 81-62 in front of 602 fans inside the Lorene Ramsey Gym on the campus of Illinois Central College.
The Sycamores fell to 11-9, 7-2 MVC and dropped into a second place tie with Creighton in the league standings while the Braves ended a four game losing skid and improved to 14-6, 5-4 MVC.
“We played hard and competed, but I don't think we played that well,” head coach Jim Wiedie said. “Our inability to stop them in transition and the fact that we turned the ball over more than we usually do proved to be our downfall.”
Junior Kelsey Luna was limited to just five points in the game, but she got three of those right out of the gate with a wide-open 3-pointer from the right wing to give ISU a quick 3-0 advantage on the scoreboard.
A lay-up by Bradley's Sonya Harris cut the Sycamore lead down to 3-2 and then the first of three first half 3-pointers from freshman Michelle Lund gave Bradley a 5-3 lead. Kara Schilli drained a jump shot to knot the score at five and Lund came right back with another triple with 16:43 left in the first half which staked the Braves to a lead they would not lose.
The Sycamores battled and competed to cut the Bradley lead down to 30-24 with 4:09 left, but the Braves finished the half on a 12-2 spurt to race into the locker room with a 42-26 lead.
A Shannon Thomas free throw opened the scoring in the second half and then after Monica Rogers scored on a lay-up, the Sycamores got back-to-back jumpers to fall by Bianca Jarrett and Kelsie Cooley to make it 44-31 with 16:32 left.
Bradley got the lead back out to 18 points at 55-37 with 11:13 left and then freshman Megan Burton scored the game's next five points en route to posting a career-high seven points.
A pair of free throws by Jarrett made it 55-44 with 9:29 left but that would be as close as the Sycamores would get in falling 81-62.
Jarrett paced the team with 15 points with a perfect 6-of-6 mark at the free throw line. Cooley joined Jarrett in double figures scoring with 11 points on the strength of a solid 5-of-11 shooting effort.
Bradley placed four in double figures with Skye Johnson pacing the Braves with 16 points. Hanna Muegge and Raisa Taylor scored 13 each while Renee Frericks added 10.
Bradley converted 17 Indiana State turnovers into 29 points and scored 22 points off the fast break.
The Previous Meeting ? Indiana State (7-7, 3-0 MVC) played in their 14th game of the season this afternoon at Hulman Center, hosting the Illinois State Redbirds (11-4, 2-1 MVC) who came to Terre Haute with a nine-game winning streak.
Behind a 25-point effort from Kelsey Luna, the Sycamores once again came from behind at halftime to defeat the Redbirds 72-65 to stay perfect in Valley play and end the Redbird winning streak.
In eleven of ISU's 14 games, the Sycamores have been behind heading into halftime and after today, have come-from-behind in four of those games to snag the victory setting a new Indiana State record.
Illinois State jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead within the first two-and-a-half minutes which was topped off by a Kristi Cirone three-pointer before Indiana State called a 30-second time-out to try and cool off the Redbirds.
After the time-out, the Sycamores scored on their next two possessions on jumpers by Kelsie Cooley and Kara Schilli and on their next turn down the court, Luna tied the game at 9-all when she nailed a three-pointer. The Sycamores took their first lead of the game at 15:25 when Bianca Jarrett hit a jump shot to put Indiana State up by two, 11-9. After Cirone netted the game at 11-all, Luna hit another three-pointer to put the Sycamores up by three at 14-11 with 14:50 showing on the clock.
The Redbirds went on a 7-2 run in the next two minutes to regain the lead 18-16 with 12:44 to go with Ashley Sandstead hitting a three-pointer to finish off the Redbirds scoring run.
Jarrett went 2-for-2 at the free throw line after being fouled on a lay-up attempt and Deja Mattox followed with a three-point basket to put Indiana State back up by three at 21-18 with 11:35 remaining in the first half.
Illinois State scored the next seven points and saw Sandstead once again finish off their scoring run with a three-pointer at 9:21 to put the visitors up by four. They increased their lead to six, the largest of the half, when Cirone converted a lay-up at 7:23. Cirone finished the first half with seven points and six assists.
Indiana State cut the lead to two at 31-29 with 1:50 to go. Luna made good on a jumper to finish with ten points and four rebounds in the first twenty-minute stanza. Jarrett made another two free throws and Shannon Thomas took the ball to the basket to bank in a lay-up to cut the Redbird lead to two. However, Illinois State scored four straight points to put the score at 35-29 and take a six point lead heading into halftime.
The first half saw three ties and six different lead changes in what turned out to be a fast paced period. The Sycamores were a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe and shot 36 percent from the field. Illinois State went 0-for-3 from the free-throw line but shot 42 percent from the field and registered 22 points inside the paint. Nicolle Lewis tallied eight first-half points to lead the Redbirds in scoring.
To begin the second period, the Redbirds made a mistake and left Luna, the third-best three-point shooter in Indiana State history, wide open on the left baseline; Luna drilled the trey and pulled her team within three early on at 35-32.
Luna's three-pointer was part of a 14-2 Sycamore run that began the second half. Jarrett, who comes off the bench and is usually the spark for Indiana State, made a three-pointer and then a jumper on the next Sycamore possession to lead the scoring run that put the Sycamores up by six, 43-37, with 15:21 left in the game.
The Redbirds did what they had been doing the entire game whenever the Sycamores made a scoring run and came back by outscoring Indiana State 8-2 in the next two minutes, led by Cirone who tallied four of those eight points. With 12:56 remaining, the Redbirds tied the game up at 45-all on a Cirone free-throw. However, less than 30 seconds later, Luna nailed another three-pointer to put the Sycamores ahead by three.
Illinois State regained the lead and went up by three 51-48 at 9:53 when Shala Jackson, Kenyatta Shelton, and Cirone made back-to-back-to-back buckets in less than two minutes. In a back-and-forth game, the Sycamores then went up by three at 54-51 with 8:40 remaining when Mattox made consecutive buckets and Jarrett converted a lay-up to score her 14th and 15th points of the game tying her career high. Jarrett would later add a free-throw to finish with 16 points setting a new career high point total and finishing as the Sycamores second leading scorer.
Indiana State went up by eight, 64-56, with 1:27 left to go in the game thanks to Luna who drained her fifth three-pointer of the match and also added a two-point basket to help the Sycamores cushion their lead. A strong 10-for-12 performance at the free-throw line late in the game also helped Indiana State run away with a 72-65 victory. The Redbirds managed to cut the lead to four with 54 seconds left to play but that's as close as they would come.
The Sycamores shot 39 perfect for the game on 22-56 shooting and received 25 points from Luna who went 5-for-10 from behind the arc. Jarrett added 16 points, two assists, and five rebounds. Mattox also chipped in 12 points and five rebounds.
For the Redbirds, the team shot 37.5 percent on 27-72 shooting. Cirone tallied 16 points and nine assists. The standout guard needed just four additional points to register at least 20 in the past seven games which would have broken an Illinois State record. Lewis and Ashleen Bracey chipped in 12 and 10 respectively.
Up Next ? Indiana State finally returns to the Nellie & John Wooden Court at Hulman Center on Thursday, February 12 when they host Wichita State. Tip-off is slated for 7:05 p.m. (EDT).
