NORMAL – A painfully slow start caused discomfort that never totally left the Illinois State women’s basketball team Friday at Redbird Arena.
Falling behind Missouri State by 16 in the second quarter, the Redbirds rallied within two before dropping a 75-69 Missouri Valley Conference game.
“I want to give Missouri State a ton of credit. That first quarter they came out and hurt us,” ISU coach Kristen Gillespie said. “Starting the game 1 of 11, I don’t care who you play that’s really challenging. It was their defense. They were extremely physical with us and took us out of rhythm.