End or Beginning? and What's with Indiana and Basketball!

In the past week, I've had the pleasure of covering the Illinois State Lady Redbirds play 2 home games in the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT). The Redbirds were honored to host both on Doug Collins Court in Redbird Arena. The first, a sweet 16 game against Marquette came down to the wire with Kristi Cirone sinking 2 free throws with 9 seconds left to put the Redbirds ahead by one point. A buzzer launched shot from the baseline missed, rimming out the game and season for the Golden Eagles.

Following that Thursday night game was a Sunday 2:05 game against none other than the Hoosiers of Indiana. Wow, is about all I can say for that game. The 3600+ in attendance were rowdy and made as much noise as a crowd 3 times the size. Why didn't I put in my ear plugs, I'll never know. On the floor, the passion from each team to continue on to the final 4 was evident. It was a pretty bang up game with girls hitting the floor on almost every up and down. The officiating? Well, it’s always difficult to figure out especially while holding the camera and shooting. One doesn't always see everything that happens - which from a photog perspective is good. If you see it, you missed it! At one point, and I have to admit, I didn't see the whole thing, the coach from Indiana had me frozen. Had she actually done it, I'd have missed it. Miffed about a call - or lack of one - she got really irritated and went down towards the end of the bench and grabbed a chair. I thought it was going to be Bobby Knight all over again. What is it about Indiana coaches, basketball, and chairs?

I'm not sure if the Redbirds will make it to the finals or win the WNIT, but when their year is over, so is the college career of Kristi Cirone. It will be hard to replace 30 points a game. It's been great to watch, follow and document her days on floor at Redbird Arena. I can't imagine that sometime in the near future, we will see #10 retired and hoisted to the rafters. She will be in some very elite company. It does beg to ask the question, what about next year? If you were at the game against Indiana you have the same hopes that I do. Kristi was on and off the floor as were all the uniformed underclassmen. All performed and many of the younger gals stepped up. Nicolle Lewis, a junior was the leading points getter with 13 for the 'Birds and grabbed 13 boards to boot. We saw Amanda Clifton take point and Emily Hanley mix it up.


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