SIUE women roll in fourth period to topple Illinois State University
NORMAL, Ill. - SIUE women's basketball team saved its biggest offensive output for the fourth period Tuesday as it rolled over Illinois State 65-57 at Redbird Arena.
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The Cougars, 3-4, won their second straight road contest with a 24-point fourth period. Gwen Adams led a second-half surge with 12 of her 15 points over the final 20 minutes.
"I definitely thought my teammates did a good job of getting me the ball inside," said Adams. "It was a team effort. They trusted me with the ball inside to do what I can do."
SIUE Head Coach Paula Buscher said it was a nice win for the Cougars. The nonconference season is allowing the team to get better before the challenge of the Ohio Valley Conference season.
"It's a process," said Buscher. "You are trying to get better every day, and I thought we got better today."
Shronda Butts led all scorers with 20 points, including 13 in the first half. Donshel Beck missed her second double-double of the season by a single point, finishing with nine point s and a game-high 11 rebounds.
After SIUE sprinted to an 11-point lead 17-6 after one period, Illinois State came back to pull within two by the halftime break at 25-23.
"It was sloppy at times," said Buscher. "We just have to take care of the ball."
SIUE committed 22 turnovers against Illinois State but used a decided advantage in rebounding 46-38 to control the contest.
"We know we're a better team when we are good on the boards," noted Buscher. "We did a good job on the boards tonight. I thought that was going to be the important stat line for us."
The Redbirds, 1-5, took a brief lead 31-30 in the third period on a layup by Shakeela Fowler with 6:41 to play. Adams put the Cougars back up with an assist to Lauren White 27 seconds later and never trailed again.
Beck gave the Cougars a 41-37 lead with nine seconds left in the third period. SIUE opened the fourth period by extending it to an 11-2 run, opening up a double-digit lead. The Cougars would lead by as many as 14 points late in the game, but a pair of late three-pointers pulled the Redbirds to the final eight-point deficit.
Illinois State shot 31.8 percent (21-66) from the field and kept close behind seven three-pointers. Fowler led the Redbirds in scoring with 12 points. Octavia Crump added 10.
'We stuck to the game plan defensively," said Buscher. "I give our players credit for that. I was pleased with our focus defensively."
SIUE shot 42.4 percent (25-59) from the field and won the battle in the paint 44-20 over Illinois State.
SIUE now heads to Carbondale, Illinois, for a noon game Friday against SIU Carbondale. It will be seventh consecutive road contest for the Cougars.
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