By WJBC Staff
NORMAL – The Illinois State women’s basketball team was on the wrong side of a 59-45 loss to Yale Tuesday night on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
The Redbirds (2-2) trailed the Bulldogs (3-2) 7-2 early on, but fought back to tie the contest at 12-12 thanks to 10 first-quarter points from junior Hannah Green. But Yale close out the first quarter with the final seven points to lead for good, 19-12.
The visitors eventually scored nine straight and used a 12-2 run to take their largest lead of the half, 24-14, at the 4:08 mark of the second quarter. A pair of free throws from sophomore Katrina Beck and a triple from senior Brechelle Beachum moved Illinois State back to within five at 24-19, before the Bulldogs tallied five of the final seven points of the stanza to go into halftime leading 29-21.
Yale scored the first five points of the third quarter, capping a 10-2 spurt, to stretch its lead out to 13, before the Redbirds once again fought back to within five, 37-32, at the 3:52 mark, on a layup from sophomore Viria Livingston. However, the Bulldogs once again finished out the quarter strong, scoring seven of the final nine points to head into the final 10 minutes leading 44-34.
During the fourth quarter, Illinois State sliced the deficit to eight three different occasions, with the last time coming at 49-41, with 4:56 to go, but could not get any closer, as Yale pulled away for the victory.
Besides the 12-2 run, shooting proved to be the biggest difference. The Redbirds managed to only shoot 28.3 percent (17-of-60), including only 2-of-16 from downtown. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs connected on 9 three’s (on 28 attempts), as they shot 35.6 percent (21-of-59) for the game. Yale also won the rebounding battle, 48-36.
The defensive effort was there for Illinois State, who forced 18 turnovers, with half of those coming on nine steals. The Redbirds also rejected six shots and only turned it over 13 times as well.
Green led Illinois State in scoring with 10 points to go along with four rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Beck added seven points, tied her career high in steals with four, which happened last time out, and recorded a career-high two blocks. Beachum also netted seven points, and sophomore Millie Stevens chipped in six points and a team-high six rebounds.
The Redbirds held the Bulldogs’ leading scorer, Lena Munzer, to only two points, 14 points below her season average, but Jen Berkowitz (18 points) and Tamara Simpson (16 points) both stepped up to fill the void. Berkowitz also added six rebounds and three blocks, while Simpson narrowly missed a double-double with a game-high nine rebounds to go along with a game-best five steals. Megan Gorman chipped in nine rebounds and three blocks as well for Yale.
After Thanksgiving, Illinois State returns to action when it travels to DeKalb, Illinois, to take on Northern Illinois this Saturday, Nov. 26, with tipoff slated for 6 p.m. at the NIU Convocation Center.
