NORMAL – The Illinois State women's basketball team lost a close game to Bowling Green Friday night at Redbird Arena, falling 58-54 to the Falcons.
Octavia Crump led ISU in scoring with 17 points, while adding five rebounds. Stekara Hall had her best offensive performance of the season with 14 points to go along with five boards. Katy Winge was the third Redbird in double figures, with 11 points.
Illinois State (0-9) was 21-of-60 from the field (35 percent) and 4-of-10 from three-point range (40 percent). Bowling Green finished the game 23-of-61 from the field (37.7 percent) and 6-of-16 from beyond the arc (37.5 percent).
Bowling Green outrebounded ISU, 44-37. The Falcons were able to score 30 points in the paint. ISU had 24 points in the paint.
The Redbirds went without a field goal for the first six-and-a-half minutes of the game, as they missed their first eight shots from the field. Zenobia Bess put the Redbirds on top of the Falcons, 1-0, after splitting a pair of free throws. Bowling Green followed with a 14-3 run to go up 14-4. At the 13:28 mark of the first half, Winge drilled a 3-pointer for ISU's first field goal of the game.
The Redbirds ended the half strong and were able to cut into the Bowling Green with an 8-0 run during a five-minute Falcon drought. Winge hit her second 3-pointer during the run and Hall converted a steal into a layup to put ISU within seven points of the Falcons. Despite the strong finish to the half, ISU went into the locker room trailing by eight points, 26-18.
Both teams traded buckets early in the second half until ISU went on a 16-5 run fueled by stellar shooting and stingy defense. Hall and Mackenzie Freeman both hit threes and Crump had a steal-and-score. ISU shot 7-of-8 from the field during the run, and the Redbirds cut the Bowling Green lead down to just one point, at 40-41, with 10:17 left in the game.
In the late going, Taylor Stewart stole the ball and went coast-to-coast for the score. Bowling Green coach Jennifer Roos received a technical foul during the play, and Winge hit 1-of-2 technical free throws to tie the game at 49-49 with 4:17 remaining.
The Redbirds' comeback bid fell short when Bowling Green's Rachel Myers hit a three in the corner to put the Falcons up 58-52 with 1:42 remaining in the game. The Falcons didn't score the rest of the game, but were able to cling onto a 58-54 win over ISU.
Erica Donovan led the Falcons with a double-double of 20 points and 15 rebounds. Bowling Green lost two of its forwards to injuries during the game as Lauren Webb left the game during the first half and Donovan exited late in the second half.
The Redbirds will look for their first win of the season when they host Butler Monday at Redbird Arena. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.
