By ISU Sports Information
SAN ANTONIO- The Illinois State women’s basketball team trailed by 23 points at the end of the first quarter against UTSA and the deficit was too much to overcome, as the Redbirds fell, 77-51, Friday in its first game of the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic. Octavia Crump and Brechelle Beachum led ISU with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Beachum recorded four steals to go along with her 10 points, setting career highs in both categories.
Crump sank 50 percent of her field goal attempts, while collecting five rebounds and two steals in 21 minutes. Shakeela Fowler added nine points, while Colleene Smith scored eight, all coming in the second half. On the defensive side of the ball, Illinois State (1-3) collected a season-high 11 steals. UTSA (1-2) found the bottom of the net on 57 percent of its shot attempts, while ISU connected on 32 percent of its attempts. The Roadrunners grabbed 36 rebounds, collecting eight more boards than the Redbirds. UTSA’s bench controlled the offensive attack, netting 46 points.
“We got a sucker punch in that first quarter, and we couldn’t recover,” head coach Barb Smith said. “As a young team, we have to learn how to play on the road and against different styles. We just couldn’t get it together. Our shots weren’t falling and our defensive principles weren’t there, but UTSA was also very hot. There will be these types of growing pains, but we will bounce back.”
An early three by Fowler gave ISU a 3-2 lead, but UTSA quickly took the momentum and controlled the pace of play throughout the first quarter. The Roadrunners used a 24-0 run to take a 26-3 advantage after the first 10 minutes of the game. The Redbirds committed 12 turnovers in nine minutes and shot 10 percent from the field, while UTSA connected on 69 percent of its shot attempts at the end of the first quarter.
Fowler found the bottom of the net at the 7:36 mark of the second quarter, sinking ISU’s first field goal in nearly 12 minutes. The jumper gave life back to the Redbirds, as Crump recorded back-to-back and-one plays, 34-14. The Roadrunners responded and were led by Tesha Smith, who netted 12 points in the second quarter. Smith, who came in off the bench, scored eight-straight points for UTSA. The Redbirds ended the half on a 10-4 run, as they headed into the locker room trailing, 45-24.
In the first half, the Roadrunners couldn’t miss, as they sank 67 percent (20-of-30) of their field goal attempts, compared to the Redbirds’ 26 percent (6-of-23). ISU committed 15 turnovers before the break, and UTSA used the Redbird miscues to its advantage, scoring 20 points off of ISU’s turnovers. The Roadrunner bench produced the offensive attack for UTSA, as it scored 33 of UTSA’s 45 first half points.
The Roadrunners kept their offensive attack going in the third quarter, as they opened the second half with an 11-0 run. The run increased UTSA’s lead to 32 points, 56-24, with 7:01 remaining in the third quarter. Both teams struggled from the field in the middle of the third quarter, but UTSA regrouped and put together another run, 7-0, to take a 63-32 advantage into the fourth quarter.
The Redbirds were able to score late in the fourth quarter, but UTSA’s lead was too much to overcome and ISU fell, 77-51. ISU will play its final game of the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic Sunday at noon against Omaha.
