NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team took the court for the first time during the 2021-22 campaign on Wednesday evening, defeating UMSL in exhibition play, 64-53, at Redbird Arena.
The Redbirds were led by junior forward DeAnna Wilson, who scored a game-high 18 points, going 8-of-12 (66.7%) from the floor while grabbing six rebounds. Also finishing in double figures was fifth year guard Juliunn Redmond (14) and redshirt sophomore Maya Wong (13), who also dished out a game-high five assists.
After UMSL's Alex LaPorta knocked down a jumper 21 seconds into the game to put the Tritons up 2-0, the 'Birds quickly rattled off 10 points, which included a four-point play by redshirt junior Mary Crompton after being fouled on a three-pointer. The 'Birds never relinquished the lead from that point on but the Tritons did not back down, closing the lead to six points on two occasions in the third quarter.
Illinois State shot 40.4% (21-of-52) from the floor and 38.4% (5-of-13) from beyond the three-point arc.
Triton freshman guard Mallory Ronshausen led UMSL with 15 points, shooting 50.0% on the day (5-of-10) and from deep (3-of-6). LaPorta, a graduate student forward, had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
IN THE BOX SCORE:
- Sophomore Kate Bullman pulled down a team-best 11 boards on the day.
- The Redbirds outrebounded the Tritons, 45-35, also holding a 28-20 advantage in points in the paint.
- 11 'Birds saw action in the exhibition, including newcomers Jada Stinson, Kenzie Bowers and Lexi Boles.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH KRISTEN GILLESPIE:
On the opponent: "It was so good to be back in front of fans. I wish we had played a little better but I have to give UMSL a ton of credit. They are a very well-coached team and their players play extremely hard."
On Wilson's performance: "We always want to play through our posts - we talk about 'paint touches' often and how can we get the best look or opportunity. I thought D played very well and took advantage of her match-ups down low."
UP NEXT
Illinois State will open the regular season at Northern Illinois on Tuesday, Nov. 9. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
For all latest on Illinois State women's basketball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team at @RedbirdWBB (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).
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