Siguiente ArtículoWisin & Yandel: Mejor Artista Latino en los MTV VMA's

Sycamores seek to outscore Redbirds

The Pantagraph Bloomington, IL January 19, 2007 | Douglas Hamm NORMAL – Jim Wiedie could have been speaking for all his Missouri Valley Conference coaching counterparts when asked about his game plan for the streaking Illinois State womens basketball team.

“Were going to try to outscore them,” Indiana States coach said. “I dont know if we can stop them. Theyre just playing extremely well.” Indiana State will get its shot against the league-leading Redbirds at 7:35 tonight when the Sycamores host the Redbirds at Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Ind.

Led by sophomore point guard Kristi Cirone, Illinois State (13-4 overall) has zoomed to a 6-0 Valley start after convincing victories over Wichita State (87-73) and Missouri State (76-47) last week at Redbird Arena.

The Redbirds built 40-point leads against both opponents and had each game won by halftime. More impressively, the Redbirds hammered Missouri State without starting post players Kenyatta Shelton (foot injury) and Lashawn Johnson (suspension).

“Cirone has raised her game to a whole new level since league play started, and she was playing at a high level before that,” Wiedie said. “Everything starts with Cirone on the perimeter. foxsportsmidwest.org fox sports midwest

“They like to penetrate the gaps and kick out to the threes. Megan (McCracken) always gives us fits on the perimeter and (freshman guard Maggie) Krick has been playing well.” Indiana State (10-7, 3-3) has been a surprise after suffering heavy graduation losses from last seasons regular-season league champion. The Sycamores are averaging a league-leading 82.2 points per game behind forwards Laura Rudolphi (13.9) and Rachel Maenpaa.

“I have a lot of respect for Jim Wiedie and the program hes built there,” Illinois State coach Robin Pingeton said. “A lot of people thought this would be a down year for him after losing so many seniors, but hes done a great job.

“Theyre probably one of the best full-court pressing teams that well play. Its a team if you dont take care of the ball youre going to be in a world of hurt.” The teams have split their last eight meetings in what has become one of the Valleys fiercest rivalries. Indiana State has fueled the fire by offering $1 tickets for tonights game, which will be telecast on Fox Sports Midwest and Comcast.

“Weve had some battles back and forth since Robin has been there, and I think thats great,” Wiedie said.

Cirone averages a team-high 15.7 points and a league-leading 6.5 assists. The Redbirds also lead the league in rebounding (41.4) and are third in scoring (76.8). website fox sports midwest

“Were similar teams,” Wiedie said. “Both teams arent afraid to shoot the ball early and often. I anticipate a lot of points. Hopefully it will be one of those nights where theyre not shooting the ball so well.

“Both teams have some talented guards and it will come down defensively to which team makes the better adjustments as the game goes on and which team shoots better.” Johnson (7.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg) will return to the Illinois State lineup after serving a one-game suspension for fighting with Antionette Wells in the Wichita State win. The Valley announced this week Johnson and Wells wont face any further disciplinary action.

“I was really proud of the way our team rallied around each other in that Missouri State game, but for us to be at our best we need to be healthy and have all of our players out there,” Pingeton said. “Its going to be great to have Shawn back on the court with us.” Pingeton said Shelton, whose left foot is in a cast as she battles two stress fractures, will be sidelined at least another four weeks.

“Because of the severity of the injuries its probably in everybodys best interest to be very cautious with how soon she comes back to the team,” Pingeton said. “Shell still have a nice chunk of games left and to have her for the conference tournament will be huge for us.” Douglas Hamm