NORMAL, Ill. - Indiana State had the league-leading Illinois State Redbirds on the ropes, but a late charge allowed the 'Birds to come-from-behind to down the Sycamores, 77-70 in front of 3,133 fans at Redbird Arena.
ISU falls to 8-7 (2-3 MVC), while the Redbirds continued their best start in school history at 15-1 (5-0 MVC).
Junior forward Kara Schilli tied a career-high with 14 points and added 10 rebounds to record her first career double-double. She hit just her second 3-pointer of the season in the second half.
The Sycamores got the better part of the Redbirds over the game's first 20 minutes to take a 38-32 lead into intermission. ISU held its largest lead of the game with just over three and a half minutes left in the first half at 34-24 on a trey by sophomore Kelsey Luna.
Schilli helped ISU maintain a lead into the break by hitting a pair of free throws with 36 seconds left for the 38-32 lead.
An 8-2 run right out of the gate knotted the game at 40 early in the second half and the game went back-and-forth until a 9-0 spurt by Illinois State put them ahead by their largest margin, 67-57 with just under seven minutes to play.
The Sycamores answered with an 8-0 run of their own on a jumper and trey by Schilli as well as a put-back on an offensive rebound. Maria Olsthoorn"s free throw with 3:28 left in the game inched the Sycamores within 69-67.
Illinois State's Kristi Cirone and Annie Bankhead traded buckets on the next two possessions.
After the 'Birds scored three more points on its next two possessions, they led 74-69 with 1:42 left.
Luna would get fouled and hit one free throw to trim the Illinois State advantage to four points, but an offensive foul by Schilli turned the ball back over to the 'Birds.
From there it was all free throws for Illinois State as they secured a 77-70 victory.
"We played really well for about 30 minutes, and exceptional in the first half," head coach Jim Wiedie commented. "We were not able to come out with the same intensity in the second half as we did early in the game."
Illinois State out-rebounded the Sycamores by a 52-38 margin, including 19 on the offensive end. The 'Birds converted those boards into 15 second chance points. The Redbirds also held a 36-18 advantage in the paint.
"In the second half especially, we gave up way too many offensive rebounds and points in the paint," Wiedie said. "Things were totally different in the second half as opposed to the first."
Joining Schilli in double figures were Luna, who led the team with 16 points, and Laura Rudolphi who put in 14. Rudolphi now has 974 career points, needing only 26 more to reach 1,000 for her career.
The road team had won each of the previous three meetings in the series until the 'Birds victory today on their homecourt.
Reigning MVC Player of the Year Kristi Cirone paced Illinois State with 19 points.
The Sycamores return to action on Friday, January 25 when they travel to Wichita State. Tip-off is slated for 8:05 p.m. (EST).
