Redbirds Secure First Win of 2014-15, Top Loyola, 72-56

NORMAL, Ill. - Mary Sims led the Illinois State women's basketball team to its first victory of the season Sunday afternoon at Redbird Arena, as the Redbirds defeated Loyola by a score of 72-56.

Sims finished with a game- and career-high 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, and a perfect 7-for-7 showing from the line. She also had seven rebounds. Katy Winge , Octavia Crump and Lindsay Smith joined Sims in double figures, scoring 14, 12 and 10 points, respectively.

ISU shot 42.9 percent (21-for-49) from the field and 83.3 percent (25-for-30) from the free-throw line, which matches a season high for free throws made. The Redbirds outrebounded Loyola, 37-30.

Crump made the first basket of the game for the Redbirds. ISU traded baskets with Loyola to start the opening half, before the Ramblers went on a 7-0 run to take an 11-7 lead. ISU was held scoreless for four minutes during the Loyola run.

Sims led her team in the first half, giving the Redbirds the lead at 16-15 during her own 7-0 run. Sims only missed one shot in first half, shooting 7-for-8 for a career-high 16 points in the half. Sims also brought down four rebounds and dished out one assist before intermission.

Late in the opening period, ISU went on an 11-0 run, capped off by a Winge three, to extend its lead to 37-23. The Redbirds went into the break ahead, 40-25, which was their largest lead of the season.

ISU shot 54 percent (15-for-28) from the field in the half and scored a season-high 40 points in a half.

The second half started out slow for the Redbirds, as they connected on just 2-of-9 shots from the field in the first 10 minutes. One of those makes was a 3-pointer from Winge, her second of the game. Despite the slow start, ISU was still able increase its lead to 20 points by going 18-for-19 from the charity stripe in the half.

Loyola was led by Taylor Johnson and Taylor Manuel, who both reached double digits in scoring, tallying 13 and 12, respectively.

The Redbirds will look to remain in the win column when they host Northern Iowa on Friday. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. at Redbird Arena.

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