The Illinois State women's basketball team extended a lapse into earlier bad habits in the first half of a 12-point loss to Loyola on Friday in Chicago.
ISU coach Barb Smith hopes the Redbirds' resurgent second-half performance against the Ramblers is a portent of a positive outcome during Sunday's 2 p.m. Missouri Valley Conference game against Bradley at Renaissance Coliseum in Peoria.
"We started very slow offensively, and that puts us in a tough spot," Smith said. "We didn't start shooting better until the fourth quarter. Our bench did a great job. They really played hard and brought us back.