By WJBC Staff
NORMAL, Ill. – Senior Brechelle Beachum poured in a career-high 24 points, including 15 after halftime, to lead the Illinois State women’s basketball team to a 60-49 victory over Eastern Illinois Thursday night on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
Beachum knocked down a career-best seven field goals (on 16 attempts), swished a career-high eight free throws, as she went to the line a career-best 10 times, and added a season-high six rebounds to go along with two assists and two steals while logging a career-best 35 minutes.
Sophomore Katrina Beck, who logged all 40 minutes, added a season-high 15 points, with 11 coming in the fourth quarter, a career-best eight rebounds, two assists and two steals, while freshman Megan Talbot just missed a double-double with season highs of nine points and 10 rebounds.
Senior Taylor Stewart, who entered the contest as the Redbirds’ leading scorer, was held to only three points, but she handed out a game-high six assists and recorded a game-best four steals to tie career highs in both categories. She also tied a career high in minutes played with 38.
Illinois State (3-3) started out trailing 7-2 halfway through the first quarter, before the Panthers (4-4) increased their lead out to 16-7 with 1:21 left in the opening stanza. Freshman Frannie Corrigan swished a jumper, which cut the deficit to 16-9 after the first 10 minutes.
Corrigan’s bucket started a 15-2 Redbird flurry, including 10 in a row at one point, and a layup from Beck produced a 22-18 lead for the home team with 3:58 remaining before halftime. Eastern Illinois responded by scoring seven of the final 10 points of the second quarter to tie the game, 25-25, at the break.
The Illinois State defense held the Panthers to only 4-of-18 shooting over the second 10 minutes, and Beachum’s seven points during the period helped the Redbirds climb back into the game.
Illinois State led for a majority of the third quarter but by no more than three. The Panthers eventually took a 34-33 lead with 1:29 to go. The Redbirds took the advantage back on a pair of Beachum free throws, but after a pair of ties, Eastern Illinois entered the final 10 minutes ahead, 38-36.
Cold shooting doomed Illinois State in the third stanza, as the Redbirds made only 2-of-18 from the field. But the home team made one triple and converted 6-of-8 free throws while continuing their strong defensive effort against the visitors.
It was all Illinois State, however, in the fourth quarter. Corrigan manufactured a steal and scored a layup on the other end, which started a string of eight unanswered that included back-to-back three’s from Beachum and Beck. The Redbirds eventually went on a 13-3 run to start the final 10 minutes, as a Beck layup produced Illinois State’s largest lead at the time, 49-41, with 3:47 remaining.
The Panthers scored a bucket on their next possession to slice the Redbird advantage to six, but it was the closest they would come. A steal and another layup from Beck gave Illinois State its biggest lead, 60-47, with 36 ticks to go.
Beck and Beachum combined to score 20 points in the final period, where the Redbirds outscored Eastern Illinois, 24-11. Beck made 4-of-5 field goals, including 2-of-3 from deep, while Beachum connected on 2-of-3 shots and delivered on all four of her free throw attempts. As a team, the Redbirds shot 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from the field, 3-of-5 from distance and 7-of-8 at the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.
Overall, neither team shot the ball well. Illinois State finished the contest shooting 32.8 percent (19-of-58) and only 6-of-21 from three-point range. However, the Redbirds made their free throws count, going 16-of-23, including 13-of-16 after halftime. They also only turned the ball over 13 times.
The defense limited the Panthers to only 31.0 percent (18-of-58) and 2-of-12 from behind the arc. The Redbirds also forced 23 turnovers, with 10 coming from steals, to outscore Eastern Illinois, 25-5, in points off turnovers, which proved to be one of the major differences in the game.
Seven players played for Illinois State, but only six tallied 12 minutes or more. All five starters logged at least 35 minutes.
Erica Brown led the Panthers with a triple-double of 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks, as Eastern Illinois finished with 13 rejections as a team. Grace Lennox added 10 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Jalisha Smith narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
The Redbirds’ four-game homestand continues this Sunday, Dec. 4 when they welcome Wisconsin to town for their annual PACK THE ARENA game. Fans attending Sunday’s 2 p.m. tip will be admitted for free.
