Redbirds Fall To Salukis On Senior Day
Written by Tim Zalabak on February 20, 2022
NORMAL IL. – Senior day for Illinois State University ended in a loss as Southern Illinois University displayed why they are the number one seed in the Missouri Valley Conference.
The one-sided contest was controlled by Southern Illinois forward, Abby Brockmeyer. With 20 points 2 assists and 12 rebounds, Brockmeyer proved to be a formidable challenge for the Redbirds, taking the game in convincing fashion with a score of 65-49.
“She’s fantastic. She and Juju will have an interesting race to the finish. She plays extremely hard and makes the choice to go and get a tough rebound. Southern does the hard things really well,” Said Head Coach Kristen Gillespie.
With only 9 points to Southern Illinois 21 in the first quarter, the importance of a hot start becomes more evident.
Mary Crompton began to show life late in the third quarter as she hits two three-pointers, trying to gain some much-needed momentum.
“We need to be ready to go right from the start. We’ve had a couple of slow starts in a row. At practice, we can’t make excuses and we need to toughen up a lot,” Mary Crompton, the junior guard comments.
It would not be a proper Redbird matchup without another stellar performance from fifth-year senior Juju Redmond. The final home game for Redmond did not cause her to stray from the game plan. Raking up 21 points and dishing out opportunities for teammates, Juju shows one more time why she is the face of Redbird women’s basketball.
“The defense is always going to make it very hard for her. We have to have some help for us to be a great team. It can’t be a one-man show. In a game like this where they continue to collapse, we must continue to find players to step up,” coach Gillespie comments.
To compete at the national tournament level, the Redbirds must make adjustments from the loss to Southern Illinois. The theme for the Redbirds this season is playing as a unit which is a choice Coach Gillespie plans to make along with her team.
The Redbirds are now 11-4 in conference play. Coach Gillespie and her squad have their sights set on Friday, February 25, in Des Moines Iowa against the Drake Bulldogs.
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