NORMAL, Ill. -Â Illinois State Women's Basketball (6-1, 0-0 MVC) brings a five-game win streak into sold out Reynolds Coliseum against No.5 NC State (8-0, 0-0 ACC) Sunday at 1 PM on the Redbird Sports Radio Network and ESPN+.
SERIES HISTORY
Illinois State and NC State meet for just the second time in the history of the programs Sunday.
Behind 20 points and 7 rebounds from Women's Basketball Hall of Famer Cathy Boswell, Illinois State upset No.10 NC State 73-68 in Raleigh back in 1981. Three Redbirds reached double figures, including Boswell's game-high. Beth Landes finished with 14 points while Denise Norton tallied 10 for the night. Veda Sargent finished just short of a double-double with 9 points and 9 rebounds. Illinois State led 70-68 in the closing moments before a pair of free throws from Dawn Hallett and one from Boswell in the final 15 seconds secured a win for the Redbirds. Illinois State won its ninth-straight game, which was a program record at the time, and improved to 9-3 on the 1980-1981 season.
LAST TIME OUT
The Redbirds rolled by Chicago State Thursday 102- 47 at CEFCU Arena in what was a dominant all-around effort. Illinois State scored 100-plus points for the second time this season, joining a 105-point performance from the season opener at Omaha Nov.6. The Redbirds have not done so in multiple games in a single season since 1989-90.
Illinois State put seven players into double figures for the first time in program history, led by DeAnna Wilson's 21-point, 12 rebound night. Wilson and Bullman both notched a double-double as Bullman finished with 10 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. Wilson had a double-double in the first half alone with 14 points and 10 rebounds, the first of the year for Illinois State.
Illinois State finished with 63 rebounds, which stands as second in program history and the most in CEFCU Arena history. The program single-game record is 66, set back in December of 1993 against Farleigh Dickinson. It is the first time in the 21st century that Illinois State has grabbed 60-plus rebounds in a single game.
TOP-FIVE TEST
Illinois State will take on a top-five foe for just the eighth time in program history Sunday and the first time since 1992. It is the first time the program has played the fifth-ranked team in the country.
The Redbirds have one all-time win over a top-five foe (1-6 record), which came in 1982 at Horton Fieldhouse over No.3 ranked Long Beach State 75-71. Illinois State's last battle with a top-five foe came in loss to No.1 Stanford 72-56 in Honolulu, Hawai'i during the 1992-1993 season. The Redbirds are facing off with a top-five team on the road for the first time since 1985, when Illinois State fell at the hands of No.4 Louisiana Tech in Ruston, La.Â
POWER(5)ING UP
Illinois State will look to take down a second Power 5 opponent in as many seasons Sunday.
The Redbirds went 1-1 against Power 5 foes last year during the regular season, defeating Wisconsin 62-57 at CEFCU Arena and falling to Purdue 64-51 on the road. Illinois State has not matched up with an ACC foe since 2014, when the Redbirds took on Miami and fell 95-44.
BALANCED EFFORT
Thursday's historic performance marked the fifth time this season that Illinois State has put three-plus players into double figure scoring. It was the second time that 5-plus Redbirds have reached double figures in a single game this year, joining the season opener Nov. 6 at Omaha (5).
Prior to Thursday's performance, Illinois State hadn't put at least six players in double figures since January of 2014.
HITTING THE CENTURY MARK
Following a 102-point performance Thursday against the Cougars, Illinois State has now scored 100-plus points in multiple games this year. The Redbirds are the only mid-major team to score 100-plus in multiple games this season (Per Calvin Wetzel of HerHoopStats) The Redbirds have not done so in multiple games in a single season since 1989-90.
It is the fifth time in program history that Illinois State has scored 100-plus points in multiple games of a single season and the first time the program has achieved that mark in the 21st century. This year's squad joins the 1975-76 (3), 1977-78 (2), 1983-84 (2), 1989-90 (2) Redbird teams.
Illinois State has reached 100-plus points just three times in the 21st century, with two of those instances coming this season. (101 vs Eastern Illinois, 11/28/06). Illinois State opened the season Nov. 6 with a blazing offensive performance of 105 points against Omaha, the most the program has ever scored in a season opener and the most the Redbirds have ever scored in an away game.
BULLMAN'S BOARDS
Kate Bullman tallied a career-high 17 rebounds in Thursday's win over Chicago State, continuing a strong season for her cleaning the glass.
It was her second performance of 15-plus rebounds this season, joining a mark of 15 that led the game against SIUE. Bullman accounts for the top-two single game rebounding efforts in the Valley this season and she was the first MVC player this year to grab 15 rebounds in a single game. With her performance against SIUE, Bullman was the first Redbird since DeAnna Wilson in March of 2022 to grab 15-plus rebounds in a single game. Wilson had a career-high 17 rebounds in that game, which Bullman tied on Thursday.
She has grabbed 10-plus rebounds in four games this season, including back to back outings. It is just the second time in her career she has tallied double-figure rebounds in back to back games. Bullman, who is averaging 10.0 rebounds per game this season, leads the MVC and ranks 33rd in NCAA DI in rebounds per game.
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