'Birds Hold off Charleston, Advance to WNIT Super 16

NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State Women's Basketball (22-11, 13-7 MVC) put five players in double figures en route to a 74-67 win over Charleston (22-10, 13-5 CAA) in the Second Round of the 2024 WNIT at CEFCU Arena Sunday. Illinois State advances to the WNIT Super 16 to play the winner of Wisconsin and Southern Indiana. Date, time and location will be announced at a later date. 

HIGHLIGHTS 

• Illinois State ran out to as high as a 13-point lead in the first half, but Charleston stayed within reach, before tying the score at 60 with 4:02 to play. Illinois State used a 5-0 run to regain an advantage at 65-60, before hitting five of six free throws in the closing moments to hold off the Cougars.  

• DeAnna Wilson led Illinois State with 17 points and 8 rebounds. She had 10 points and 8 rebounds in the first half alone Sunday, helping Illinois State mount a 34-28 lead at halftime.  

• Caroline Waite finished in double-figures for the first time since Jan. 19, going 4-of-5 from behind the arc in a critical shooting performance. Waite stepped up in the third quarter, scoring 9 points all from behind the arc. She hit another three in the early moments of the fourth quarter to give Illinois State a 56-49 lead with 6:56 to play.  

• Shannon Dowell tallied 13 points, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds, her 16th double-figure scoring performance of her rookie campaign. Dowell scored 9 of her 13 points in the second half Sunday, including a bucket that put Illinois State ahead 47-37 in the third quarter.  

• Maya Wong finished with 11 points and a team-high 8 assists. It was her fourth performance of the season with 8+ assists. She hit the last four free throws of the game for Illinois State to secure a win.  

• Daijah Smith scored in double-figures for the fourth time in five games. She hit a crucial three-pointer from the corner three that put Illinois State up 65-60 after the Cougars had tied the game.  

GAME NOTES  

• Kate Bullman led Illinois State with 11 rebounds, her 11th double-figure rebounding performance of the season. She became the 11th player in program history to grab 700 career rebounds with the performance.  

• It was the third time over the last four games that Illinois State finished with 5 double-figure scorers. The performance marked the sixth time the Redbirds have put five-plus players into double-figures and the 15th time Illinois State has finished with four-plus double-figure scorers in a single game. The Redbirds are 13-2 when putting four-plus players in double-figures this season. 

• The Redbirds improved to 14-2 at home this season. Illinois State's 14 wins are tied for the second-most in a single season in program history, behind the 2010-2011 squad's 17 home victories.  

• Waite put up her ninth performance of the season with 3+ threes and her sixth game with 4+ threes. The Redbirds are 4-1 this season when Waite hits 4+ threes.  

• Smith is averaging 12.0 points per game over the last five games, well above her season average of 7.2 points. Three of her four double figure scoring outings in that stretch came off the bench.  

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