NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State women's basketball (9-7, 3-2 MVC) looks to bounce back as the Birds hit the road to battle Valparaiso (5-11, 1-4 MVC) Friday night at 6 p.m. and UIC (4-10, 1-4 MVC) Sunday at 2 p.m.
SERIES HISTORY
The Redbirds are riding a six-game win streak over the Beacons, which is Illinois State's fourth-longest active win streak against a current Valley foe. Illinois State has won five-straight meetings over the Beacons in Valparaiso, with the most recent loss coming in 2018 in the first-ever meeting between the two programs as MVC foes.
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Valparaiso by a 14-4 margin.
The Redbirds hold a 20-4 advantage over the Flames in the all-time series, which includes a 3-1 mark since the Flames joined the MVC in 2022. Last season the Redbirds split a pair of meetings with UIC, picking up a 64-61 win over the Flames with a 15-2 fourth quarter run to come-from-behind.
MVC NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Addison Martin earned MVC Newcomer of the Week for the second time this season, as announced by the league office on Monday. Martin averaged 13.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game on 11-for-14 shooting from the field (78.5%) as Illinois State took on UNI and Drake last week.
She posted double-figure scoring performances in consecutive Valley games for the first time this season, including a season-high 14 points on 6-for-7 (85.7%) shooting to help Illinois State hand UNI its first MVC loss of the year. She added 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals for Illinois State in the win on Friday. Martin totaled 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block against the Bulldogs and shot 5-for-7 (71.4%) from the floor.
FRESHMAN FLOOR GENERAL
Trista Fayta leads all Valley freshmen with 15 assists in MVC play this season. She ranks second among Valley rookies with 3.0 assists per game in league play. Her mark of seven assists Jan. 2 vs Indiana State is the most by a Valley freshman in league play this year.
Fayta is just the second Redbird rookie since the 2009-10 season to tally 7+ assists in a Valley game. (Shakeela Fowler; 8 at Evansville 1/29/16).
THE REDBIRD STATE
On Sunday Illinois State will take on an in-state foe for the fourth time this season as the Redbirds look to remain unbeaten on the year against Land of Lincoln foes. The Redbirds are 3-0 against in-state foes this season.
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. That includes wins over Northwestern Nov.6, Saint Francis Dec. 5, and Chicago State Dec. 15 this year, which improved the Redbirds to 17-1 against in-state foes over the last three seasons. Illinois State went 8-1 against in-state foes during the 2023-24 campaign.
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