NORMAL, Ill. – Led by a career night from DeAnna Wilson, Illinois State women's basketball (13-5, 7-1 MVC) gave Kristen Gillespie her 100th career win as head coach of the Redbirds as they took down Evansville (8-8, 3-5 MVC) by a final of 78-46 Sunday afternoon inside CEFCU Arena.
Sunday was historic for Illinois State in a variety of ways, from start to finish. Graduate guard Mary Crompton started in her 100th career game as a Redbird Sunday, becoming the ninth Redbird women's basketball athlete to achieve this feat and first since former Redbird and now head coach at UIC, Ashleen Bracey.
The 32-point victory for ISU also saw junior forward Kate Bullman move up in the ranks of career blocks, as her two swats on the night moves her tied for fourth all-time with 96 alongside Kenyatta Shelton (2006-09, 11).
Senior DeAnna Wilson would tie her career-high in points with 25 points on the night, off 10-13 shooting to go along with 8 rebounds and a steal. Wilson was joined in double figures on Sunday by Paige Robinson, who finished the night with 24 points off 9-12 shooting, including 4-6 from three-point range.
Finally, another major highlight for the Redbirds came in the win as it stands as head coach Kristen Gillespie's 100th career victory as a Redbird and 61st win in Missouri Valley Conference play. Gillespie becomes the first Redbird head coach to eclipse 100 wins at Illinois State since current head coach of Missouri, Robin Pingeton, who saw a career record of 144-81 over seven seasons in Normal.
The Purple Aces were led by Normal native, Abby Feit, who scored 20 of the team's 46 points in 33 minutes of action. Feit and teammate Barbara Tomancova led the way with six rebounds apiece while Anna Newman dished out a team-high five assists.
TURNING POINT
5:13 remaining in the third quarter. Redbirds lead 42-29. The second third quarter media timeout is called and from there, DeAnna Wilson started "to cook" as her coach would say. The Saint Louis native, over the next three minutes of game play (4:44-1:41), would score 10 points, outscoring the Purple Aces 10-5 individually.
The senior would shortly after get loose on the fast break and receive a timely assist from Jada Stinson to knock down a layup, giving her 25 points as the Redbirds were in firm control leading by 22.
Overall, in the third quarter, the Redbirds would come out strong as they finished the third frame outscoring the Purple Aces 24-8 before seeing a 20-12 margin in the fourth to wrap up their seventh straight and 11th consecutive over Evansville.
IN THE BOX SCORE:
- Illinois State's 32-point win is the largest margin of victory in an MVC regular season contest under Kristen Gillespie since at Indiana State on Jan. 8, 2021 (62-32).
- Illinois State held a 16-to-9 assist to turnover ratio on Sunday, as the 16 assists came on 31 made field goals.
- Evansville's Abby Feit saw 20 points on Sunday, making her the first ISU opponent to reach 20 points in a game since Belmont's Destinee Wells a week ago in Nashville.
- Illinois State won the rebound battle 39-37 including 31 defensive rebounds.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Paige Robinson
- 15th time scoring in double figures this season
- 8th time scoring 20+ (first time since at Missouri State on Jan. 5)
- DeAnna Wilson
- Tied career-high with 25 points off 10-13 shooting
- 11th time finishing in double figures this season
UP NEXT
The 'Birds hit the road for a quick two-game road trip as they head to Valparaiso for a meeting with the Beacons on Friday at 6:00 p.m. CT from the Athletics Recreation Center (ARC).
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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