Birds Knock off Northwestern, 81-77

EVANSTON, Ill. – Illinois State women's basketball (1-0, 0-0 MVC) earned its third 'Power' win under head coach Kristen Gillespie Wednesday night, holding on for a thrilling 81-77 win over Northwestern (0-1, 0-0 Big Ten) at Welsh-Ryan Arena.  

HIGHLIGHTS 

• Illinois State finished with four double-figure scorers, led by 23 points from Shannon Dowell, 15 points from Maya Wong, 13 points from Nevaeh Thomas, and a 12 point, 11-rebound double-double from Addi Martin.  

• Dowell scored 18 of her 23 points in the second half, shooting 7-for-15 from the field and knocking down a pair of threes. She also tallied four rebounds, one assist and one steal.  

• The Redbirds built a 36-34 halftime lead, but Northwestern rallied to lead 50-46 at the three-minute mark of the third quarter. Illinois State used a 9-2 run to take a 55-52 edge over the Wildcats, highlighted by a three from Caroline Waite to take the lead.  

• Northwestern took a 57-55 lead to open the fourth quarter, but Illinois State answered again, grabbing a 60-59 advantage on a bucket from Dowell at the 7:17 mark. The game was tied once after, but Illinois State did not trail the rest of the way. A fastbreak bucket from Dowell gave the Redbirds a 75-68 lead with 2:28 to go, the largest lead of the second half. 

• Northwestern fought within two with 29 seconds remaining, however a three in a final moments didn't fall and Illinois State held on for the win.  

GAME NOTES 

• The Redbirds earned their third 'Power' win in head coach Kristen Gillespie's tenure, which have all come against Big Ten foes. Illinois State took down Illinois on the road in 2019 and Wisconsin at CEFCU Arena in 2022. 

• Illinois State won its third consecutive season opener, which have all been road victories. The Redbirds took down Omaha to open last season and Dayton to tip off the 2022-23 campaign.  

• Dowell is the fourth Redbird to post a 20-plus point performance in a season opener under Gillespie, joining Mary Crompton (2022, 27 points; 2020, 20 points), Tete Maggett (21 points, 2019) and Simone Goods (2018, 25 points; 22 points, 2017).  

• Illinois State improved to 15-1 against in-state foes over the last three seasons and 36-9 against in-state foes since the start of the 2019-20 campaign.  

• The Redbirds earned their first season-opening win over a 'Power' opponent since a victory over Illinois in Champaign to open the 2010-11 campaign.  

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