NORMAL– The Illinois State Women’s basketball team took a 21-home game win streak into their contest Sunday afternoon against the Bradley Braves on Doug Collins Court in Redbird Arena.

Not only was it a big rivalry game, but this year’s war on ’74 game carried another sort of emotional aspect to the contest as it was the annual Play4Kay pink game. The ‘Birds sported pink uniforms with pink sneakers as both teams sported pink socks and headbands. The teams used the emotion for the game as it was a battle of runs.

First it was Illinois State jumping out to a 12-2 lead in the first 2:30 of the game thanks to the scoring and rebounding of Candace Sykes who finished the game with 20 points seven rebounds and added a block. When Sykes got into foul trouble the Braves took full advantage of it to tie the game at 22-22 on the steam of an 8-0 run.

Although ISU was severely out-rebounded with Sykes on the bench, it was the +6 turnover margin that ultimately helped the ‘Birds stay ahead. It was senior Katie Broadway who then stepped up with some key shooting to help the Redbirds go on an 18-10 advantage to end the first half and take a 30-40 lead into the half. Broadway finished the game with 19 points and four assists, and was one of four players in double digits for ISU.

It was the Braves offense and rebounding early in the second half that cut the ISU lead to just four, but he ‘Birds battled right back taking advantage of Bradley miscues on both ends of the court. Rebounding and turnover trends from the first half continued in the second half as the Redbirds continued to force turnovers, and ended up forcing 19 in the game.

With Katie Winge’s key outside shooting and the solid inside play of Marley Hall the ‘Birds refused to give up the lead in the second half. Their consistent defensive pressure combined with the lack of interior defense form the Braves helped Jamie Russell attack the basket late closing out the 82-63 win. The team ended up shooting an impressive 51% from the field and an even more impressive 52.6% from behind the 3-point arc.

The win over Bradley (13-12, 4-9 MVC) puts Illinois State (14-9, 9-3 MVC) in a tie with Wichita State and Missouri State for the top spot in the Missouri Valley Conference, and increased the team’s home winning streak to 22. The team’s next will see action Friday, February 17 as they will travel to Omaha, Nebraska to face the Creighton Blue Jays. Tip-off is set for 7:05 pm (CST).