Crump rallies Redbirds past Bradley

Posted on January 23, 2016
Octavia Crump
(Photo courtesy goredbirds.com)

By ISU Sports Information

NORMAL – The Illinois State women’s basketball team made a fourth-quarter comeback and defeated Bradley, 54-49, Friday night on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.

Octavia Crump led the comeback charge for ISU as she went on a personal 7-2 run in the fourth quarter to lift the Redbirds to victory. Crump finished with a game-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, to go along with seven rebounds. Shakeela Fowler also finished in double-digits with 12 points.

Illinois State (4-13, 2-4 MVC) had four different players score in the early going and were able to grab an 8-5 lead. The Braves struggled to find their shot early, shooting 1-for-9 from the floor to start. Bradley (5-11, 1-5) picked up its offense, however, and went on a 9-0 run to finish the quarter with a 14-8 lead.

Crump jump-started the Redbird offense with a three-point play on ISU’s first possession of the second quarter. Taylor Stewart followed that with a 3-pointer, tying the game at 14. Despite starting the quarter on a 10-2 run, ISU went into halftime deadlocked at 23, thanks to a last-second layup by Bradley’s Shareece Burrell. Crump scored seven points in the quarter to bring her total to nine at the break.

Both teams traded baskets for the first three minutes of the second half, before Bradley went on a 5-0 run to gain a 32-28 lead. ISU finished the quarter with a long possession that ended with a Brechelle Beachum 3-pointer, cutting Bradley’s lead to 37-35.

Crump sparked a fourth-quarter comeback as she scored seven-straight points for the Redbirds and gave ISU a 44-41 lead. Colleene Smith and Beachum scored back-to-back layups as ISU pushed its run to nine unanswered points. Danielle Brewer brought the Braves to within two points, at 48-46, with a 3-pointer with less than three minutes to play, but that would be the closest the Braves would get. Fowler went to the free throw line with 13.4 seconds to play and the Redbirds up 50-47 and sunk both shots to close out the Braves.

The Redbirds return to action Sunday at Redbird Arena, where they will face Loyola at 2 p.m. Sunday’s game will mark Illinois State’s annual PACK the Arena game, with free admission offered to all fans.

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