By ISU Sports Information
NORMAL – The Illinois State women’s basketball team concluded its four-game homestand Sunday with a 72-46 loss to George Mason on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
Sophomore Katrina Beck led the Redbirds (3-6) in scoring with 12 points, while senior Taylor Stewart and freshman Frannie Corrigan added nine and seven points, respectively. Both Stewart and Corrigan also dished out a team-high two assists.
Junior Hannah Green paced Illinois State on the glass with a season-high 11 boards to go along with four rejections, giving her 11 blocks over the last two games. Sophomore Viria Livingston returned to the lineup and grabbed a season-best nine rebounds, falling one short of her career high, while freshman Megan Talbot corralled eight caroms.
Beck started the scoring for the Redbirds with a jumper from the free throw line and followed with a triple from the right wing to give Illinois State an early 5-2 advantage nearly three minutes in.
The Patriots (6-5) responded with a 9-1 spurt to take an 11-6 lead. After Corrigan made a trey ball from the right corner, Mason tallied six of the final seven points of the stanza to take a 17-10 lead after 10 minutes. The Redbirds could not get anything going on offense, as they converted only 3-of-19 shots and missed 4-of-6 free throws as well.
The cold shooting continued in the second quarter for the home team, and Mason took advantage. The Patriots used a 26-8 run over both quarters to bulge their lead out to 37-17 with 2:22 remaining in the first half, before Illinois State cut the deficit to go into the break trailing 40-21.
The Redbirds made 7-of-35 shots, including 2-of-11 from behind the arc while going 5-of-10 from the charity stripe in the first half. Mason, meanwhile, shot 38 percent (14-of-33), including 5-of-13 from distance, and made all seven of its free throw attempts.
The third quarter turned out to be Illinois State’s best in the contest. The Redbirds shot 47.1 percent (8-of-17) and outscored the Patriots, 20-18, with Stewart netting seven of her nine points in the period. Senior Brechelle Beachum converted a pretty old-fashion three-point play with 1.4 ticks left, which trimmed the deficit to 58-41 after three quarters.
But the final 10 minutes was all Mason, who held a 14-5 advantage on the scoreboard, which allowed the visitors to cruise to the 72-46 victory.
Illinois State finished the contest shooting 25.8 percent (17-of-66) and 4-of-22 from downtown. The Patriots shot 40.9 percent (27-of-66) and swished 7-of-20 from behind the arc.
The Redbirds took much better care of the basketball, turning it over only 12 times, but Mason did as well with only 10 giveaways, and held a 14-2 advantage in points off turnovers. The Patriots also won the battle on the boards, 51-42
Kara Wight paced Mason with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds to go along with game highs of five assists and three steals. Jewel Triggs added 11 points, while Tayler Dodson chipped in 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.
The Redbirds enter finals week and will go on a nine-day hiatus, before returning to action Tuesday, Dec. 20 when they travel to Macomb, Illinois, to take on Western Illinois, with tipoff slated for 7 p.m. inside Western Hall.
