Kiki Stephens led the Shockers in scoring and rebounding with 17 points and eight boards. Marcy Sudbeck and Kyrie Kinder chipped in 13 points apiece. Five Redbirds ended in double figures. Nicolle Lewis and Megan McCracken led ISU with 16 points each. Kristi Cirone scored 15, and Maggie Krick and Lori Trumblee added 11 and 10, respectively.
A Cirone three-pointer with 16:18 left in the first half capped a 15-5 Redbird run to open the game, and ISU never looked back. The Shockers suffered through a shooting drought all evening, but managed just one basket in a 6:30 span during the first half giving the Redbirds plenty of opportunity to pull away.
A Lewis free throw with 10:59 left pushed Illinois State out to a 26-7 lead before the Shockers opened an 8-2 run capped by a Daria Frazier basket to pull within 28-15. Megan McCracken's three-pointer with 8:08 left snapped a 2:30 drought for the Redbirds and pushed ISU back out to a 31-15 lead with just over eight minutes remaining.
Illinois State extended its lead to as many as 53-17 with just over three minutes left in the half and led 56-23 at the break.
Kyrie Kinder led the Shockers with six points in the first half.
Illinois State opened the second half on a 9-2 run over the first two and a half minutes. Lewis had two field goals in the stretch, and Krick added a three-pointer in transition. After a transition layup by Johnson, the Redbirds claimed a 40-point advantage (65-25) with 17:35 left in the game.
Over the next six minutes, a 15-5 run by the Shockers made it 70-40. The run was interrupted as Wichita State's Antionette Wells and ISU's Lashawn Johnson were ejected for fighting with 12:54 left. After each player received a technical and personal foul, they were ejected per NCAA rules. A fighting ejection calls for a suspension from the remainder of the game in progress and the ensuing contest, which is this Saturday for both teams.
The Shockers held Illinois State to 17 points for the remaining eleven minutes of play, while scoring 33 on their end, but it wasn't enough to make up the early deficit.
Wichita State wraps up the weekend by facing the nation's fifth-ranked offense at Indiana State (9-6, 2-2) on Saturday.
Indiana State, the defending league champion, was swept on the road last week by Evansville and Southern Illinois, but the Sycamores have one of the most dynamic offenses in the country, and are 5-0 at home this season. Saturday's game with the Sycamores is set for a 1:05 p.m., tip-off.
The game will air live locally on KNSS 1330 AM with Shane Dennis calling the action. Live audio will be available at www.shockerradio.com.
