Dayton overtook Illinois State’s late rally at Redbird Arena

NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women’s basketball team (2-6) battled back 15 points at halftime and leveled the game in the final minute of the third quarter, but ended up with Dayton (6-2) 78-67. At Redbird Arena on Sunday.

Fifth year Juliunn Redmond recorded its second-year performance of more than 20 points and ended up with game records in points (22) and rebounds (8). Redshirt junior Mary Crompton ended with 16 points, 14 of which were counted in the second half and 11 of which came during the ISU’s third-quarter rally.

Redshirt sophomore Maya Wong accelerated Redbirds early and scored nine of their 13 points in the first quarter. Wong also collected his career record of seven rebounds and made four assists in the race.

The flyers were led by Erin Whalen and Makira Cook, who scored 18 and 17 points during the day.

TURNING POINT

The Redbirds ’offensive fights in the second quarter included a Flyers 11-0 run in the middle and Illinois State’s failure to score in the final 5:58 of the half. 44-29.

Illinois State rose after the break, beating Dayton 25-12 in the third period and leveling the game 17 seconds before UD’s Cook sneaked in just before the buzzer sounded. Crompton found its rhythm in the last three minutes of the quarter, cleared three triples in that time frame and went deep 3-of-5.

The Flyers returned to the lead and quickly scored seven points at the start of the fourth quarter, breaking it with just a couple of Redmond free throws. The Redbirds got as close as four points within 67-63 of Crompton’s three-pointer with 4:34 left, but were ultimately unable to narrow the gap with the Flyers.

IN THE BOX POINTS

• Dayton, who participated in today’s match by shooting 35.4% from behind the arc, shot 10/18 (55.5%) during the day.
• Redmond’s 22 points in today’s race was the eighth 20+ point finish of his career and the second in the last three games.
• Second year student Kate Bullman led the team in blocks (2) for the second game in a row.
• Wong has been the head of the ISU in three of the eight matches this season.
• The ISU’s 25 points in the third period were the highest they have done in the quarter against a Division I opponent in the 2021-22 season.

QUOTE BY MAIN GRADUATE KRISTEN GILLESPIE:
About the respondent: “We faced a really tough Dayton team. They returned all their starters from last year when they won their league and ended up in the post-season. They are very well trained and we knew that today’s game was going to be a challenge.”

About the team’s performance: “I was proud of our efforts and the fact that we stayed engaged and in the game. We were stupid, but we were able to work ourselves back and calm down. and I’m really proud of us for that. ”

NEXT

The Redbirds will be holding a few days off in the final week before heading to Edwardsville next Saturday, Dec. 11 to receive SIUE Cougars. The tip is at the First Community Arena at 1 p.m. CT.

Stay tuned to GoRedbirds.com and follow the team at @RedbirdWBB (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).

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