ST. LOUIS – The reigning MVC Tournament champions, Illinois State women's basketball team, have been picked to finish second in the 2022-23 Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll, announced Tuesday in the annual survey of the league's coaches, sports information directors and media.
MVC newcomer, Belmont, was selected as the favorite in the MVC women's basketball race, receiving 32 out of 48 first-place votes and 508 total points, out-distancing second place ISU (444 pts, seven first-place votes) with Drake (438 pts, six first-place votes) rounding out the top three.
"We are honored to compete in the best mid-major women's basketball conference in the country," ISU head coach Kristen Gillespie said. "Every team will have to be ready to battle night in, night out."
The rest of the preseason poll reads Murray State, (397 points, two first-place votes) at fourth, followed by UNI (393 pts), Missouri State (388 points, one first-place vote), Southern Illinois (270 pts), Indiana State (257 pts), Evansville (207 pts), Valparaiso (197 pts), Bradley (133 pts), and the last MVC newcomer, UIC (112 pts).
Head coach Kristen Gillespie enters her sixth season (87-61) at the helm of the program, after guiding the Redbirds to their sixth-ever appearance at the NCAA Tournament in 2022. Illinois State will look to keep its streak alive, having finished better than or matching their preseason poll position in all five years in the Gillespie era.
"We really don't pay much attention to preseason polls," said Gillespie. "We are a process driven program. Our focus is to leave the gym everyday a little better than we entered."
The Valley also announced its Preseason All-MVC team, filled by athletes from Drake, Evansville, Belmont, Murray State, and ISU's DeAnna Wilson. The MVC preseason Player of the Year is Belmont junior guard, Destinee Wells, who also got recognized as one of 20 watch-list candidates for the 2023 Nancy Lieberman Award, which honors the top point guard in NCAA Division I women's basketball.
Illinois State women's basketball will host an exhibition game (with FREE admission to all spectators) versus Indianapolis on Tuesday, Nov. 1 at Redbird Arena, prior to opening the 2022-23 season on the road at Dayton on Thursday, Nov. 10.
FLEX PLANS
Women's basketball this season will have a flex pack available, where fans can buy a pack of 10 tickets for $55 that can then be used in whatever grouping the fan would like (i.e., fans can use 10 tickets for one game, one ticket for 10 different games, or whatever amount in between).
To take advantage of this flex plan, fans can log onto www.goredbirds.com/tickets.
SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets are available for the 2022-23 season. Follow this link to purchase your season tickets or contact the Athletics Ticket Office at (309) 438-8000 for more information. Tickets start at just $65 for general admission to the women's season.Â
For all latest on Illinois State women's basketball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team at @RedbirdWBB (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App:Â Â Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
