NORMAL — Every once in a while, Illinois State women’s basketball coach Kristen Gillespie has to have “that talk” with senior guard Paige Saylor.
This is not, mind you, a come-into-my-office-and-sit-down talk. This is a gentle prodding, a “little nudge” as Gillespie calls it.
“We’re harder to guard when she scores,” said Gillespie whose team returns to Redbird Arena to face Valparaiso at 4 p.m. Thursday. “Paige is just so unselfish. Scoring is the last thing she thinks about. When she is a threat, it opens up a whole other area of our offense.”
Saylor is among the Missouri Valley Conference’s top point guards and a two-time member of the league’s All-Defensive team.