NORMAL, Ill. -- Wichita State (9-17, 3-11) played the Redbirds nearly even for the first half but an early run after the break helped Illinois State (21-3, 11-2) outrun the Shockers, 77-57, Thursday night inside Redbird Arena.

Kyrie Kinder led the Shockers with nine points on the night. Nicole Lewis led all scorers with 16.

The Shockers scored the first four points of the game before Illinois State answered with an 11-0 run to grab a seven-point lead following Nicolle Lewis' layin with 15:32 left in the opening frame. WSU responded with a 12-2 run of its own to take a 16-13 lead after a Jacie Hoyt 3-pointer with 12:11 left in the first.

In a first half full of runs the Redbirds responded yet again, this time with a 13-0 strike thanks in part to a a near-nine minute scoring drought by the Shockers that allowed ISU to build a 10-point advantage before Samantha Smith's layin with 3:20 left in the first cut the deficit to 26-18.

WSU closed the half on a 6-2 run of its own, getting a buzzer-beating layin from freshman Jadhon Kerr to cut the deficit to just 28-24 at the break. Wichita State shot 39-percent from the floor in the first, including outshooting the Redbirds 2-1 from 3-point range.

The high-powered Redbird offense opened the second half on a 15-4 run to extend its lead to 43-28 following a Cirone steal and layin with 15:00 left to play, and ISU never looked back, as WSU cut never cut the deficit to single digits from that point on.

The Shockers are next in action at 1:05 p.m., Saturday at Indiana State.