NORMAL, Ill. – With over 5,000 local middle school and junior high students in attendance at CEFCU Arean on Wednesday, Illinois State used a 31-point first quarter output to take a big lead early against Chicago State and never looked back and the Redbirds improved to 2-1 on the season with a 101-52 victory over the Cougars on Education Day in front of a crowd of 7,629 fans.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Illinois State jumped out to a 20-4 lead thanks to a 12-0 run that lasted over three minutes, as freshman Kya Hurt connected on a running jumper in the lane to stake the Redbirds to a big lead with four-plus minutes left in the first quarter.