MOLINE, Ill. – The one-seeded Illinois State women's basketball team awaits their quarterfinal match-up at the Hoops in the Heartland Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in Moline, Ill. The Redbirds will face the Murray State Racers as the two programs tip-off at 12 p.m. CT Friday and you can catch all the action on ESPN+.
GAME INFORMATION
No. 1 Illinois State (23-7, 17-3 MVC) vs. No. 8 Murray State (15-15, 7-13 MVC)
When:Â Friday, March 10
Tip-off:Â 12 p.m. CT
Location:Â Moline, Ill.
Facility:Â Vibrant Arena at The MARK
Watch:Â ESPN+
Radio:Â WJBC 1230 AM /Â 93.7 FM
Live Stats:Â StatBroadcast
ALL-MVC REDBIRDS
Five Redbirds were honored on All-MVC teams heading into the conference tournament last night.
Graduate student Paige Robinson headlined Illinois State's selections as the 2022-23 Jackie Stiles Player of the Year, 2022-23 Newcomer of the Year, All-MVC First Team honoree, and All-MVC Newcomer Team honoree. Senior DeAnna Wilson was tabbed All-MVC Second Team while graduate guard Mary Crompton was recognized as All-MVC Third Team. Finally, junior forward Kate Bullman was tabbed a member of the All-MVC Defensive Team.
However, the accolades continued rolling in for ISU as the Redbirds were graced with the 2022-23 MVC Coach of the Year, none other than Kristen Gillespie. This season, Gillespie has led the Redbirds to 20+ wins for the first time in her tenure as well as have collected career win no. 200 as a head coach in college basketball and win no. 100 at the helm of the 'Birds.
NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Graduate guard Paige Robinson was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week on Monday for her performance in ISU's pair of wins at Evansville and Indiana State last weekend. Robinson averaged 23.0 points per game for Illinois State as the Redbirds went 2-0 on the road to finish the regular season against Evansville and Indiana State. She made 14-of-23 shots for the week (60.9%) and was 14-of-19 (73.7%) from the free-throw line.
The Bethany native averaged four rebounds on the week with six assists, three blocks, and four steals. Â
MID-MAJOR TOP 25
ISU comes in at no. 10 in this week's College Insider's Mid-Major Top 25 poll. The poll, which is in its 12th year of existence, is made up of teams outside the Power Five conferences.
In total, four MVC teams are receiving recognition in the poll. Illinois State (10) is joined by UNI (14) and Belmont (16) while Drake is receiving votes.
SERIES HISTORY
After taking the lone regular season meeting between the two programs, Illinois State leads the all-time series with Murray State 3-1. As this is the first year for Murray State in the MVC, the Redbirds and Racers have not met in the MVC Tournament before, with their lone neutral site meeting taking place in 2001 as ISU lost 65-55.
LAST WEEKEND
ISU and Evansville met last Thursday, with ISU taking a 73-56 victory over the Purple Aces. Paige Robinson led all scorers with 26 points, including 9-of-14 from the free-throw line. Robinson was joined in double figures by DeAnna Wilson, as the senior went for 23 points off 8-of-17 from the field.
Then, last Saturday, the Redbirds captured a share of the 2022-23 MVC regular season title for the first time since 2010, with a 82-71 win in Terre Haute. DeAnna Wilson would shine bright for the 'Birds, finishing with 26 points, a new ISU career high as she would surpasses her previous career high of 25. The St. Louis native also grabbed eight rebounds, bringing her career total to 602, which is good enough for 15th all-time in ISU program history. The Redbirds also saw Paige Robinson and Maya Wong go for double figures, as they would chip in 20 (Robinson) and 14 (Wong), respectively.
For all the 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 Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
