WICHITA, Kan.--Wichita State's closely fought match-up against the Redbirds of Illinois State saw 13 lead changes, the last of which landing in Illinois State's favor, as the Shocks dropped a thriller, 73-70.

Senior forward Marcy Sudbeck set the pace for the Shocker offense with 21 points and seven rebounds. The other half of the senior duo, Daria Frazier, trailed slightly with 19 points and nine rebounds?just one rebound shy of her second-straight double-double. Dishing out the goods was sophomore Jacie Hoyt, who started at point guard. She handed out 13 assists against the Redbirds.

Illinois State was led by senior guard, and member of the Missouri Valley Preseason team, Kristi Cirone. The guard tied for the lead of all scorers with 21 points, nine of which came at the free-throw line. The Shockers defense, however, did not allow her a single three-point basket.

Coming down to the final moments, a lay up by Redbird sophomore Shala Jackson tied the game with 50 seconds to play. Solid defense by both teams would not allow another bucket, forcing the Shockers' second overtime of the season.

Sudbeck took over, hitting the first two buckets for the Shockers in overtime. Staying with the theme of the game, the Shockers took the lead briefly before it changed hands again. Junior Maggie Krick drilled a three to put the Redbirds up, 69-68.

Leading her team, Cirone was sent to the free throw line twice with less than 16 seconds remaining. Making all four attempts, the Redbirds took a 73-68 lead. The only one they wouldn't surrender.

A runner through the lane that resulted in a three-point play for Cirone kicked off the second half. It did more than put the Redbirds ahead, 40-37, it gave freshman guard Haleigh Lanskter her fourth foul just two minutes into the final half. Her stay on the bench would be a short one, however, as she was needed to help stop Cirone. The Redbird senior propelled Illinois State ahead, 45-37, while Lankster sat out.

Once Lankster returned, she teamed up with Frazier to nail consecutive shots and put WSU right back in it, 45-42. Frazier struck again to pull the Shocks within one, but Illinois State responded with four-straight points. The game would see its sixth tie of the night when sophomore guard Val Siemens' third three locked the score, 53-53.

With less than eight minutes to play both teams continued to stay close from the floor. The Shockers shot 43 percent to the Redbirds' 48 percent, but the Shocks' defense remained air tight from behind the arc. Just over five minutes remained and the Redbirds were shooting below 13 percent. The Shockers were hitting 50 percent from three-point land, fresh off a three from Frazier who used hers to tie the game.

Unfortunately for the Shockers, Frazier fouled out less than a minute later, a change in the game that dearly hurt the Shockers.

Picking up where Frazier left off, Sudbeck went up strong for a bucket under the basket to create a slight edge for the Shockers, 62-59. Illinois State would reverse that edge when they stormed back to send the game into overtime.

In the first half, Sudbeck got the Shocker offense started with a long jumper and a strong lay up to put her team ahead, 4-0. The senior would reach double-digits before the end of the first half. In the meantime, the Shockers' defense allowed the Redbirds to hit just one of their first seven attempts from the floor.

Lankster knocked down a three to seal a 5-0 run for the Shockers and pushing their early lead out further, 9-2. A three in response from Krick helped the Redbirds' effort to close the gap, 11-7.

After a slow offensive start by both teams, each picked it up nearly midway through the first half. The Redbirds, who shot just 14 percent in the first four minutes of the game, were shooting at a 46 percent clip by the eight-minute mark. The Shockers stayed close, hitting 43 percent. Though the teams' field-goal percentage would remain close for the rest of the half, their three-point shooting was lopsided. The Shockers sunk 60 percent of their attempts while the Redbirds hit just 17 percent in the first half.

Cirone drained her first bucket of the evening to tie the game, 13-13. Her second gave the Redbirds' their first lead, 17-16. Using that, Illinois State put together a 6-0 run to open a small gap between the teams, 21-16. The Shocker defense was not to blame, however, as they racked up three steals to the Redbirds' zero with eight minutes still to play in the first half. WSU would finish with nine.

A three from Siemens and a 10-foot jumper from Frazier quickly thwarted the Redbirds' attempt to break the game open, as the Shocks narrowed the deficit, 23-21. Back-to-back makes from Sudbeck and sophomore Jacie Hoyt restored the lead to the home team, but only briefly. Seconds later, Cirone executed a three-point play to take the lead once again, 29-27.

For the remaining three minutes of the half the teams traded baskets, never letting either get more than a couple of points ahead. By the end of the half, each was shooting around the 50 percent mark. But the Shockers' 5-0 run to end the half sent the Shockers to the break with a 37-33 lead. Another lead the Shockers wouldn't get to keep.

The Shockers wrap up a three-game home stand when they play host the Missouri State Bears on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 2:05 p.m.

 

More to come...