PEORIA- The Illinois State women's basketball team struggled with scoring droughts in its 60-50 loss at Bradley Sunday. ISU shot 31 percent from the field at the Renaissance Coliseum, as the Redbirds couldn't find an offensive spark.
Katy Winge led the Redbirds (1-27, 1-16 MVC) with 17 points, while Lindsay Smith added 12, with seven coming from the free throw line. Colleene Smithadded six points. Bradley (6-21, 5-11 MVC) connected on 38 percent of its shot attempts and had the advantage on the boards as well, pulling down 41 compared to Illinois State's 38. C. Smith led ISU in rebounds with 11, while L. Smith collected eight. The Redbirds recorded a season-high 15 steals. Despite the season performance in steals, ISU committed 23 turnovers, allowing BU to score 20 points off of the Redbird miscues.
"I feel like we were in a hurry this game. I wanted to push the tempo of the game, but I wanted it to be our tempo, and I felt we were playing at their pace and that caused our turnovers," head coach Barb Smith said. Colleen, Lindsay and Taylor (Stewart) brought great energy for us in the first half, but we didn't sustain the high energy that we had in the first half. We just have to keep battling."
Bradley opened the game with an 11-2 run, netting three shots from three-point range. The Redbirds struggled to connect from the field, as they were scoreless for over three minutes. ISU also committed five turnovers in the first five minutes of the game. Then, Illinois State found some offense, scoring four-straight points, but Bradley regrouped and used an 8-1 run to take a 19-7 advantage at the 11:27 mark.
Illinois State continued to struggle from the field halfway through the first half, but free throws helped the Redbirds pull within six points of the Braves, 21-15, thanks to a 6-0 run. Bradley committed four turnovers in two minutes during the Redbird run, as it went five minutes without a field goal. ISU was able to battle back and used a 7-0 run to tie the game, 27-27, at the half. The run was aided by a scoring drought by Bradley that lasted the final 4:39 of the opening half.
L. Smith led all scorers in the first half with nine points, netting seven at the free throw line. Winge shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, scoring seven points, while C. Smith added five. ISU shot 31 percent from the field, as Bradley connected on 40 percent of its shot attempts. The Redbirds had the advantage on the boards, grabbing 22, including nine offensive boards. C. Smith and L. Smith both grabbed five boards, leading the Redbirds in rebounds. ISU had 10 steals in the first half despite struggling with turnovers.
ISU opened the second half with a 6-0 run, 33-27, taking its first lead of the game. After the Redbirds' offensive attack, the two teams traded baskets, but five-straight points by BU cut ISU's lead to one with 13:17 on the clock. Then, L. Smith hit a three in the corner to increase ISU's lead to six, but a 10-0 run by Bradley gave the 46-42 advantage to the Braves with nine minutes remaining in the game. During the BU run, the Redbirds struggled from the field, as they went five minutes without a field goal.
Illinois State continued to struggle offensively, as it went nearly six minutes without a field goal, while Bradley netted six-straight points, taking a 10-point lead, 56-46, with 1:17 left in the game. ISU couldn't overcome the scoring droughts and fell to BU, 60-50.
The Redbirds travel to Carbondale, Illinois, to take on Southern Illinois in the regular-season finale Saturday at 2 p.m.
