Redbirds Roll To 89-46 Exhibition Win Over Illinois Wesleyan

NORMAL, Ill. – Five Illinois State players scored in a double figures and two recorded double-doubles, as the Redbirds women's basketball team defeated crosstown foe Illinois Wesleyan by a final of 89-46 in a preseason test at CEFCU Arena on Sunday

HOW IT HAPPENED 
•    Illinois Wesleyan jumped out to an 8-5 lead early in the contest through the first four minutes of action, but Illinois State ended the first quarter on 12-0 run over the last 3:36 and a 19-3 runs over the last five-plus minutes. 
•    During that time, the Titans were held scoreless for the final 4:06 of the first quarter and the Redbird defense forced five turnovers over the last six plus minutes.
•    IWU got back into the contest with a 9-0 run over a 3:30 period late in the second quarter to cut the ISU lead to 32-20 as the Redbirds had a scoring drought of four plus minutes before Addison Martin connected on a pair of free throws.
•    The Redbirds started the third quarter shooting 6-of-8 from the field including a pair of three-point makes to extend the lead to 53-26 at a called timeout with 6:51 to play.
•    ISU would pull away in the third quarter, outscoring IWU 24-11 to take a 28-point advantage headed into the fourth quarter at 62-34.
•    Illinois State started the fourth quarter hot from the field, going on a 9-0 run over a two-minute span to increase the advantage to 76-38 at the media timeout with 6:41 to play. The Redbirds would pull away the remainder of the quarter, as they shot 64.7 percent from the field and 60 percent from three in the final 10 minutes of the contest.

HIGHLIGHTS 
•    Illinois State scored 36 points off 24 turnovers by Illinois Wesleyan and led by as many as 43 points late in the fourth quarter.
•    The Redbirds were 2-of-14 from three-point range through the first two quarters but shot 6-for-11 from long distance in the final two quarters of play to pull away from the Titans.
•    After starting 0-for-3 from the field, Bella Finnegan hit her next three shots from the field including two from long range to score eight quick points in the first quarter. She would go on to finish with a game-high 20 points, including a 5-for-11 effort from three-point range, to lead a group of five Redbirds in double figures.
•    Trysta Fata scored six points in the first half and finished with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and added 10 assists to record a double-double. 
•    Nevaeh Thomas also recorded a double-double, with 12 points and 10 rebounds against the Titans. Martin just missed a double-double of her own with 14 points and nine rebounds, and Doneelah Washington rounded out the double figure scorers for ISU with 10 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots.
•    Freshman guard Jaeden Pratt was solid in her debut, with nine points, eight rebounds and three assists in 19 minutes of action.

UP NEXT 
The Redbirds open the 2025-26 campaign on Nov. 3 at CEFCU Arena against Dayton, with tipoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m.  

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