OMAHA, Neb. – Behind the program's highest-ever scoring effort in a season opener, Illinois State moved to 1-0 on the year with a 105-59 win at Omaha Monday night at Baxter Arena.
"I'm proud of our team's effort to open the season with a win tonight," head coach Kristen Gillespie said. "It was our first opportunity to compete this season and I thought we played with tremendous energy from the start of the game. We have some areas to improve on but I'm proud of the way our team came together to get a road win."
HIGHLIGHTS:
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Illinois State raced out to an 18-0 lead in the game and never surrendered the advantage.
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Five Redbirds scored in double figures, led by DeAnna Wilson's 19 points in just over 19 minutes. Wilson, who also finished with 8 rebounds, scored eight of her 19 in the third quarter alone. She posted a 7-0 personal run that stretched the Redbird lead to 63-31 at the beginning of the third.
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Redshirt-senior Maya Wong tied her career-high with 17 points, which all came in the first half. She went 4-for-5 from behind the arc in the first. Wong also had five rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win.
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In her Redbird debut Monday, junior Caroline Waite also poured in 17 points. She was 3-for-7 from behind the three-point line.
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Freshman Savannah McGowan scored six straight points in the third quarter, finishing with 12 points and 6 rebounds in 10 minutes in her college debut.
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Senior guard Daijah Smith came off the bench and posted 11 points on a 5-for-7 performance from the field. She also had five rebounds and one assist.
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The Redbirds led 54-31 at the break, which was Illinois State's first 50+ point half since dropping 53 in the second half Jan. 9 of 2022 at Evansville.
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Kate Bullman led the game with 12 rebounds, just her third performance of 10+ rebounds since the start of 2022-2023.
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Seven Redbirds made their Illinois State debut Monday, including five 'Birds who made their collegiate debut. Waite and Smith appeared for the first time as Redbirds, while Tayor Veach, Shannon Dowell, McGowan, Brooke Coffey and Molly Lenz played their first college games.
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A freshman accounted for Illinois State's final 10 points of the third quarter, which included six from McGowan and a pair from Dowell and Lenz. The Redbirds took a 79-46 lead into the fourth quarter.
NOTES:
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The outing was the sixth-highest scoring outing in program history and the first 100-plus point performance for Illinois State since 2006, when the Redbirds put up 101 in a win over Eastern Illinois. It was the program's 16th performance of 100+ points and just the second since 2000.
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It is the most the Redbirds have ever scored in a season opener and the most Illinois State has ever tallied in a road game.
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McGowan's 12 points are the most by an Illinois State true freshman in a season opener since at least 2013. She is the first Redbird to score double figures in a season opener since Mary Crompton tallied 10 points to open the 2018-2019 campaign at SIUE. McGowan and Crompton are the only true freshmen to reach double figure scoring in a season opener in Gillespie's tenure.
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