CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Illinois State women's basketball team will have its first test against against a Power 4 opponent on Sunday, when the Redbirds travel West on Interstate 74 to take on in-state foe Illinois in a non-conference matchup at the State Farm Center. Tipoff is schedule for 12 p.m. and the game can be viewed live on B1G+.
THE SERIES
Illinois State and Illinois will meet for the 43rd in program history, with series tied at 21-21. The Redbirds have won
the last two games against the Illini and four out of the last five games in the series overall. The two teams last
played in 2019, a 74-58 win for the Redbirds over the Illini in Champaign. Overall, ISU is 8-9 on the road against the
Illini, who had won eight straight games in the series before a Redbird win in 2010 in Normal.season against a familiar foe in Illinois.
THE FASTBREAK
- The Redbirds outscored Dayton by 11 points in the third quarter to pull away for an 87-76 win on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena on Monday in the 2025- 26 season opener. The Redbirds shot 51 percent from the field and had four players in doubles figures as ISU won its fourth-straight season opener and its sixth in the last seven seasons overall.
- For the third-straight season, Illinois State and crosstown foe Illinois Wesleyan met in exhibition action. Five Illinois State players scored in a double figures and two recorded double-doubles, as the Redbirds defeated the Titans by a final of 89-46 in their lone preseason test at CEFCU Arena. Transfer Bella Finnegan finished with a game-high 20 points, including a 5-for-11 effort from three-point range, while Trista Fata (17 points, 10 assists) and Nevaeh Thomas (12 points,10 rebounds) recorded double-doubles for the Redbirds.
- Illinois State advanced to the WNIT Semifinal for the fourth time in program history and for the first time since 2011 last season. The Redbirds made three consecutive WNIT semifinal runs from 2009 to 2011, earning six wins over Power 5 foes across the three runs. The Redbirds made their 16th appearance all-time in the WNIT and their fourth trip to the WNIT in Kristen Gillespie's tenure.
- The Redbirds were 24-13 overall last season, including a 14-6 mark in MVC play and a 14-4 record at home at CEFCU Arena. Illinois State secured a 20-win campaign for the third-straight season, a streak that leads all DI women's teams in the state of Illinois.
- Illinois State returns seven players from last season's squad that advanced to the WNIT Fab 4, including MVC All-Freshman team selection Doneelah Washington and All-MVC Newcomer team member Addison Martin.
- Martin and Nevaeh Thomas were listed among several Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball "Players to Watch" for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
SCOUTING THE ILLINI
- Illinois never trailed en route to a 91-67 season-opening victory over Southeast Missouri State on Tuesday night at State Farm Center. The Fighting Illini had three players score in double figures, led by Berry Wallace, who secured a double-double with 27 points and 11 rebounds, setting career-highs in both categories.
- Illinois took advantage of excellent ball movement against SEMO, piling up 19 assists on 31 made field goals. Gretchen Dolan's seven assists led the distribution list for the Fighting Illini, and Destiny Jackson also added six assists of her own.
- Illinois entered the season with eight newcomers and seven returners on its 15-player roster. However, the returning players only accounted for 24.4 percent of last year's scoring. In total, 75.6 percent of the offensive production from 2024-25 departed with five seniors: all of whom concluded decorated collegiate careers.
- The team's 63 wins through head coach Shauna Green's first three seasons match the program record in that span while also marking the most by a head coach in their first three years with the Orange and Blue. Across that period, Illinois is 38-11 at home under Green, and the program has secured double-digit wins in three straight seasons for the first time in program history.
THREEBAY UNLOCKED
The first basket for Illinois State against Dayton was a three-pointer, but it came from an unexpected shooter in Doneelah Washington who made her first two career shots from beyond the arch against the Flyers. That performance sparked a big day for the sophomore from Nebraska, who became the first Redbird since the 2009-10 season with 20+ points in a game on a perfect night shooting from the field. She also added nine rebounds in the contest to just miss out on her first double-double of the season.
FAYTA TAKES OVER
In her first career start, Trista Fayta tallied the first double-double of her career with 19 points and 10 assists against Dayton. Her complete performance turned out to be a unique one, as Fayta become just the second MVC player in the last 14 seasons to put up 19 points, 10 assists and 4 or more steals in a game. With her 10 assists, she became the first Redbirds to post double digit assists since JuJu Redmond in 2022.
MID-MAJOR LOVE
Illinois State was ranked No. 12 in the preseason CollegeInsiders.com women's basketball Mid-Major Top 25 poll. The Redbirds were one of three Missouri Valley Conference teams listed, including Murray State (No. 8) and Belmont (No. 14).
BALANCED EFFORT
The Redbirds finished with 4+ double-figure scorers in 25 games last season and did so again in the 2025-26 opener against Dayton. Illinois State is 33-9 when putting 4+ in double-figures since the start of the 2023-24 campaign. Over the last three seasons, Illinois State has finished with 4+ double-figure scorers in 42 games, and 5+ double-figure scorers in 13 games.
THE REDBIRD STATE
Since 2020-2021 the Redbirds have been statistically been the most successful DI women's program in the state of Illinois. The Redbirds lead all DI women's basketball programs in the state of Illinois with 105 total wins and a 66.0 winning percentage over that stretch. Since the start of the 2019-2020 campaign, the Redbirds are 43-10 against in-state foes. That includes an 8-1 mark against in-state foes in 2024-25, which improved the Redbirds to 22-2 against in-state foes over the last three seasons. Illinois State has won 6-plus games over instate foes in each of the last six seasons.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Illinois State returns seven players from last season's squad that advanced to the WNIT Fab 4, including MVC All-Freshman team selection
Doneelah Washington and All-MVC Newcomer team member Addison Martin. Martin and Nevaeh Thomas were listed among several Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball "Players to Watch" for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
Martin started all 37 games for Illinois State and was one of six Redbirds to break the program's single-season record for games played. The Shreveport, Louisiana, native reached double figures in 18 games, including two 20+ point performances, with a season high of 23 points scored against SIU.
Thomas averaged 12.1 points per game, a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game and 2.5 assists per game while ranking fifth in the MVC shooting 54.5 percent from the field. Thomas scored in double figures in 29 games, including the first 15 outings of the season, and tallied ten double-doubles, becoming just the sixth player in program history to tally 10+ double-doubles in a single season.
