NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State (13-9, 9-2 MVC) hits the road this weekend to take on Loyola Chicago (12-9, 4-6 MVC) on Thursday night, before traveling to Valparaiso (7-15, 5-6 MVC) for a Saturday afternoon weekend finale.
Tip-off on Thursday is set for 7 p.m. with Saturday's start time slated for 1 p.m. Both games will be available for streaming on ESPN+.
GAME INFORMATION
at Loyola Chicago / at Valparaiso
When: Thursday, Feb. 10 / Saturday, Feb. 12
Tip-off: 7 p.m. CT / 1 p.m. CT
Location: Chicago, Ill. / Valparaiso, Ind.
Facility: Gentile Arena / ARC
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM/102.1 FM
LAST TIME OUT
Juliunn Redmond collected her sixth 20+ point performance of the season in Sunday's 72-64 victory over Indiana State, helping the Redbirds to their third-straight win at Redbird Arena.
Redmond finished with a game-high 25 points, adding seven rebounds, five assists and two steals in 36 minutes on the court. Mary Crompton went 3-for-8 from behind the three-point line and a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe to finish with 17 points on the day.
Junior forward DeAnna Wilson collected her sixth double-double of the season and eighth in her career, recording 10 points and 11 rebounds.
BEST START IN THE VALLEY SINCE 2010
Illinois State and UNI both hold 9-2 records at the top of the Valley, making it the best start for the Redbirds in conference play since the 2009-10 campaign when the Redbirds went 15-1 in MVC action on the way to a regular season title.
50 VALLEY WINS
Head coach Kristen Gillespie collected her 50th MVC regular season win on Friday versus Evansville. Her 50 Valley wins in 82 games makes her the third Redbird coach to reach the mark, and only Hall of Famer Jill Hutchison did it faster (50 wins in 63 MVC games from 1984-87). Former coach (and current head coach at Missouri) Robin Pingeton also reached 50 Valley wins at ISU, doing so in 93 games in 2010.
APPROACHING 1,000
At 981 points, Juliunn Redmond is 19 points away from becoming Illinois State's 29th member of the 1,000-point club. She will be the first player to reach this milestone under head coach Kristen Gillespie.
The last member to enter ISU's 1,000-point club was Octavia Crump (2012-16) who finished with exactly 1,000 points during her four-year career.
BLOCK PARTY
Sophomore Kate Bullman ranks top-50 in the nation in both total blocked shots this year (38th, 39 blks) and blocks per game (48th, 1.8 bpg). With her eight-block performance on Friday against Evansville, she is one of 13 players in Division I and the only player in the MVC to record an 8+ block game this season.
The Grayslake, Ill.-native's league-leading 33 blocks in conference play is tied for fourth in the country, and Bullman has moved up to No. 11 on ISU's all-time blocks leaders list with 57 as only a sophomore.
MARY FOR THREE
Currently one of three ISU players to ever record multiple seasons with 60+ three-pointers (joining Kristi Cirone and Katie Broadway), Crompton has collected 54 triples this season and is only six away from becoming the ONLY women's basketball player to ever hit the 60-mark in three different seasons.
Crompton is currently ranked fourth all-time in career triples with 194 and already owns both the program's freshman (68) and sophomore (64) three-point records.
SCOUTING THE RAMBLERS
Loyola Chicago has two players averaging double figures in scoring this season: senior Allison Day (11.5 ppg) and sophomore Maya Chandler (10.3 ppg). Day leads the 'Blers on the boards with 5.8 rebounds per contest while junior Sam Galanopoulos dishes out a team-best 3.4 assists on the year.
The Ramblers are coming off an 0-2 weekend on the road in the Valley's Iowa swing, falling 69-567 at UNI on Friday and gains on Sunday, 84-76, to Drake.
ISU leads the all-time series with the Ramblers, 15-8, and won their earlier match-up this season, 68-50, at Redbird Arena (Jan. 15).
SCOUTING THE BEACONS
A trio of experienced guards lead Valparaiso in scoring in senior Shay Frederick (11.4 ppg), fifth year Grace White (11.0 ppg) and redshirt senior Carie Weinman (10.3 ppg). Frederick leads the Valley, averaging 4.3 assists per contest while White brings down a team-best 6.0 rebounds per game.
The Beacons are coming off a weekend split, defeating Drake on Friday, 72-65, before falling at UNI on Sunday, 68-38.
The 'Birds lead the all-time series with Valpo, 9-4, and are 3-1 when playing at the ARC. Illinois State claimed victory, 64-39, in the earlier meeting between these two teams this season at Redbird Arena (Jan. 13).
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: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
