Illinois State proves too much for Sycamores during quarterfinals

The Sycamore women's basketball team (17-14, 8-12 MVC) could not duplicate its Missouri Valley Conference Tournament opening round performance for Friday's quarter finals game against Illinois State (24-6, 17-2 MVC) as the Redbirds defeated the Sycamores 76-39.

The Sycamores did grab a 73-57 win over Southern Illinois in the play-in round before falling to Illinois State during the quarter finals.

"I just want to compliment Illinois State," assistant coach Clint Weddle said. "They are obviously a very good basketball team, and we wish them the best of luck."

The Redbirds started off with a bucket by forward Ashleen Bracey. Junior forward Kelsie Cooley then responded with a bucket of her own to tie the game at two.

The Redbirds then found their rhythm, going on a 15-2 run, to grab a 17-4 advantage.
"No team in the [MVC] is easy competition," senior guard Kelsey Luna said. "Those girls came out and wanted to play hard and do well."

Cooley then hit back-to-back-to-back buckets and grabbed an offensive rebound, broken up by a Bracey 3-pointer, to bring the Sycamores back to within 10 at 20-10.

The Redbirds then ended the half on a 10-4 run to hold a 30-14 halftime lead.

After halftime, the Redbirds came out on a 12-0 run to extend their lead to 42-14 just two minutes into the second half.

Sophomore center Shannon Thomas then hit a bucket, followed by a layup from sophomore guard Brittany Schoen to bring the Sycamores within 24.

That is the closest they would come though, as the Redbirds shot almost 53 percent from the floor in the second half and shot 50 percent from behind the arc.

"I think we gave it our best, but today it just wasn't good enough," Cooley said. "Sometimes that just happens in basketball."

The Sycamores were able to put three scorers in double figures led by Thomas who had 13 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.

Cooley added 10 points, three rebounds and two assists. Sophomore forward Amanda Pedro also reached double figures with 10 points, and scored the Sycamores' only two 3-pointers of the contest.

The loss also marks the final game in a Sycamore uniform for Luna, who finished with two points, from free throws, senior guard Sarah Paul and senior center Laurence Rivest.

After the mid-season suspension of head coach Jim Wiedie, assistant coaches Weddle, Melanie Boeglin and Cammie Campbell finished with a 6-4 record. Now the Sycamores must search for someone to take over the program. After the game, Cooley expressed who she thought would be the right person for the job.

"[Weddle] is sitting right next to me in my opinion," Cooley said.

An announcement regarding the position is expected before the end of the semester.