Redbirds Earn Road Win at Chicago State, 79-52

CHICAGO – Illinois State women's basketball (6-4, 0-0 MVC) put four players in double figures to move by Chicago State (0-12, 0-0 NEC) 79-52 Sunday at Jones Convocation Center, earning its third win of the season over an in-state foe.  

HIGHLIGHTS 

• Elyce Knudsen and Doneelah Washington both tallied 12 points in the first half, finishing with double figures for Illinois State Sunday. Knudsen led Illinois State with 15 points overall, knocking down a pair of threes and grabbing three rebounds in the win. Washington tallied 12 points in the first quarter alone, closing with a mark of 14 points that is a high for her young career. She reached double figures for the fourth time in the last six games.  

• Nevaeh Thomas recorded her second double-double of the year, tallying 10 rebounds to tie her season high. Thomas scored nine of her 13 points in the second half to help Illinois State pull away.  

• Maya Wong tallied 10 points of her own to reach double figures for the fourth time this season. She added three assists to her performance, dishing 3-plus assists for the seventh time this season.  

• The Redbirds raced out to an early double figure lead behind Washington's strong start. She scored eight of Illinois State's final 10 points in the opening quarter and the Redbirds led 27-15.  

• Illinois State built a 17-point lead in the second quarter, before the Cougars pulled within nine at the 3:30 mark of the second. The Redbirds took a 40-28 lead into the break. 

• Illinois State ran away in the third, outscoring Chicago State 27-9 in the quarter. Thomas went 3-for-3 from the field and led Illinois State with seven points in the third quarter. She connected on a three at the 3:25 mark to move into double figures and put Illinois State up 50-28.  

• The Redbirds expanded the lead to as many as 34 points in the fourth, closing out the road win.  

GAME NOTES 

• The Redbirds have finished with four-plus double-figure scorers in eight of ten games to open the season. Over the last two seasons, Illinois State has finished with 4+ double-figure scorers in 23 games, and 5+ double-figure scorers in nine games. The Redbirds are 19-4 when putting four-plus players in double-figures since the start of the 2023-24 campaign. 

• Illinois State improved to 3-0 on the year against in-state foes and 17-1 against in-state foes over the last three seasons. Since the start of the 2019-2020 campaign, the Redbirds are 38-9 against in-state foes and 21-2 vs in-state foes inside CEFCU Arena.  

• The Redbirds tallied a season-high 55 rebounds, grabbing 50-plus boards in a single game for the first time this season.  

• Illinois State shot north of 45 percent from the field (45.6%) for the fifth time over the last six games and the seventh time this season.  

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