Illinois State used a second half surge to break a 40-all halftime time at Missouri State to claim their 12^th-consecutive win and move to 6-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference.  In Friday’s second MVC contest, Wichita State slid past Indiana State for their first league win.

Illinois State 95, Missouri State 59

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Sophomore guard Maggie Krick tied the Illinois State record with seven three-pointers as the Illinois State Redbirds (16-1, 6-0 MVC) extended their winning streak to 12 and remained undefeated in conference play with a 95-59 win over Missouri State (6-12, 4-3 MVC) on Friday, Jan. 25. Krick finished with 25 points, just two shy of the career-high she scored against South Florida earlier this season, and a season-high eight rebounds. Illinois State outscored Missouri State 55-19 in the second half, the most points in a half this season, en route to its second 90-point effort in the last three games.

Krick tied the school record set twice by Megan McCracken and had half of ISU’s 14 triples, the third-most in a single game all-time. Junior guard Kristi Cirone had three three-pointers as a part of her 19 points and also added five assists, five steals and four rebounds. Senior guard Tiffany Hudson had her first double-digit scoring effort in the last three games with 14 points to go along with a game-high seven assists. Freshman guard Shala Jackson pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds, her second-consecutive game with double-digit boards and the most rebounds by a Redbird this year.

Illinois State outrebounded Missouri State 55-30 in the game, including a 16-8 advantage on the offensive glass. Their rebounding dominance produced 22 second chance points to just two for the Lady Bears. ISU shot 56.3 percent (18-32) in the second half and held Missouri State to just 16.7 percent (6-36).

Over a span of 12:48, that stretched between the first and second halves, Illinois State outscored Missouri State 39-12 to turn a 10-point deficit into a 17-point advantage. The Redbirds closed out the first half with a 14-4 run and started the second half with a 25-8 run. The 11-point deficit was the third-largest the Redbirds faced all season and the second-largest they erased during a victory. It was just the fourth time this year that ISU trailed by double-digits.

The game was scoreless through the first three minutes until Hudson made a pair of free throws after she was fouled attempting a fastbreak layup. Missouri State put up its first points when forward Maggie Dwyer drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key on the next possession. After a jumper by Lewis gave ISU its first field goal, the Lady Bears went on a 16-4 run to take their largest lead of the game, 19-8, at the 10:57 mark. 

Illinois State started to find its tough from the field as Hudson hit a tough jumper in the lane, Cirone nailed three-straight three-pointers and Lewis put in a layup to cap a 13-2 Redbird run that tied the game at 21 apiece. The Lady Bears answered with a pair of three-pointers of their own and scored 10 points in two minutes to maintain their lead, 31-24.

The Missouri State lead grew to 10, 36-26, after guard Melissa Busby scored five-straight points with a three-pointer and two free throws. The Redbirds battled back again with an 11-2 run over a two minutes pan, courtesy of a pair of three-pointers by Krick and five free throws by Shelton, to pull within one, 38-37.Two free throws by guard Tahnee Balerio put the Lady Bears back on top by three, but on the ensuing possession, Hudson corralled an offensive rebound off her own missed layup and then took a hit a jumper to tie the game, 40-40. 

A layup by sophomore forward Ashleen Bracey at the start of the second half gave the Redbirds their first lead since they held a two-point advantage at 16:44 of the first half and started an 11-2 ISU spurt. Hudson scored six points on a three-point play and a three-pointer and Krick canned a trifecta of her own to put the Redbirds on top, 51-43.

Krick made two more three-pointers and a fastbreak jumper to spark a 12-0 run for the Redbirds and extend their lead to double-digits for the first time, 65-48, with 11:34 remaining in the game. Missouri State made just two field goals during the half at that point. Krick canned two more three-pointers during a 24-5 ISU run to close the game and produce the final margin.

The Redbirds visit Wichita State (6-12, 1-6 MVC) on Sunday, Jan. 27, at 2:05 p.m.

Wichita State 74, Indiana State 66

WICHITA -- Wichita State (7-12, 1-6) picked up its first conference win of the season as the Shockers survived a wild finish to slip past Indiana State (8-8, 2-4), 74-66, Friday night inside Charles Koch Arena.

Kiki Stephens led the Shockers with 17 points on the night. Four other Shockers had nine points, including Kyrie Kinder, Whitney Rice, Jacie Hoyt and Samantha Smith.

Both offenses were stagnant in the opening minutes, as the Shockers forced ISU to miss their first eight shots from the field allowing WSU to open the game on a 6-2 run over the first five-plus minutes. Indiana State's Leah Phillips ended the drought with a 3-pointer at the 14:44 mark, sparking a 10-3 run for the Sycamores.

Taylor Steven's 3-pointer with 11:57 left in the half snapped a two-plus minute drought from the field for the Shockers and produced the third tie of the half at 12-12.

WSU then went nearly five minutes without a field goal, allowing ISU to open up a five-point lead before the Shockers ripped off seven-straight points to take a 24-22 lead following a Jennifer DeGarmo 3-pointer with five minutes left until the break.

A Jacie Hoyt jumper with 2:40 left in the first produced the sixth tie of the half, a score that held until a DeGarmo free throw gave WSU a 27-26 lead with :37 seconds left in the first. Angela Phillips' jumper with :13 seconds remaining gave the Sycamores a 28-27 advantage at the break.

WSU shot 33-percent from the floor in the first, including a 2-for-5 clip from 3-point range. The Shocker defense limited ISU to a 29-percent effort and forced 14 turnovers, but the Sycamores outscored Wichita State 9-6 at the free-throw line.

Marcy Sudbeck's jumper to start the second just beat the shot clock and gave WSU its first second-half lead in conference play, a 29-28 edge with 19:00 left to play. The Shockers stretched the lead to four before ISU ripped off seven-straight points to take a 35-31 lead by the under 16:00 timeout.

A transition layin by Whitney Rice with 15:18 left tied the game for the seventh time, but the Sycamores answered with an 8-2 run capped by Kelsey Luna's first 3-pointer of the game, giving ISU its largest lead of the game to that point, a 43-37 advantage with just under 12 minutes left to play.

DeGarmo answered with her second 3-pointer of the game to cut the deficit to three and Kyrie Kinder's transition layin brought the Shockers to within two, but Stephens picked up her fourth foul with 9:26 left on a charge, sending the senior to the bench with the Shockers down four, 47-43.

Seven-straight free throws by Wichita State gave the Shockers a 52-51 edge with seven minutes left, part of a 13-2 run that put the Shockers up five with just under six minutes left.

A Stephens jumper with three minutes left gave WSU a 64-58 lead, but a Leah Phillips 3-pointer cut the advantage to just three points with 2:37 left to play.

A well-executed press breaker to Kinder gave the Shockers a 66-61 edge, but the Sycamores answered yet again with another Luna 3-pointer to cut the advantage to 66-64 with 2:12 left.

The teams traded baskets before an Alex Bunton free throw with :40 seconds left sealed the win for the Shockers.

WSU is next in action at 2 p.m., Sunday against league-leading Illinois State.