NORMAL, Ill. – Five Redbirds scored in double figures as Illinois State (6-6, 0-1) produced a historic shooting performance in an 89-66 win over Oakland (3-8, 0-2) to close out non-conference play on Friday night at CEFCU Arena. ISU shot .636 from the field, the sixth-highest single-game mark in program history and the best since shooting .638 at the University of Northern Iowa on Jan. 8, 1987. It also stands as the highest field goal percentage in the Missouri Valley Conference this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• After going 0-for-11 from the field a game ago against Nebraska, Doneelah Washington came out hot on Friday night, scoring eight total points on 3-for-3 shooting from the floor and two free throws within the first five minutes of the contest.
• Freshman Kya Hurt made her first two shots, and Addison Martin added a layup of her own to send the two squads into the first media timeout knotted at 14 apiece.
• The Redbirds and Grizzlies traded shots until Oakland's fourth three-pointer of the quarter forced ISU to call a timeout down one with 1:42 left.
• Straight out of the 30-second timeout, Washington scored a layup to regain the Redbird lead, 23-22.
• Freshman Jaeden Pratt gave the Redbirds a spark off the bench, grabbing a steal and then hitting a three-point jump shot on the fast break to give ISU a four-point lead after the first 10 minutes.
• Three Oakland turnovers within a 1:44 stretch forced the Grizzlies to call a timeout and helped extend the Redbird lead to nine with 6:27 left in the half.
• A driving layup by Grace Nelson put the Redbirds ahead by 11 with four minutes left.
• Turnovers on three straight possessions and a three-plus minute field goal scoring drought by the Redbirds allowed the Grizzlies to creep back, but ISU scored the last five points of the quarter to take a 45-32 advantage into the break.
• Bella Finnegan kept the momentum rolling for the Redbirds out of halftime and converted on a three-point jumper for her first points of the game.
• ISU jumped ahead by 18 points after two layups by Hurt and a triple from Washington with 7:17 left in the third period.
• The Grizzlies responded with seven straight points, but ISU kept its lead at double digits with second-chance points from Martin and Washington, along with Nelson's second and third three-pointers of the game.
• Washington scored the final four points of the third period to give the Redbirds a commanding 69-50 lead.
• ISU consistently led by 20 or more points in the fourth quarter. Addison Martin headed that effort by going 4-for-4 from the field in the final 10 minutes to help the Redbirds run away with the win.
HIGHLIGHTS
• ISU shot .688 from the field in the first quarter and .654 from the field in the second half, marking the Redbirds' highest field goal percentage in a single quarter and half this season.
• Eight different Redbirds made buckets in the first half, with Doneelah Washington leading all scorers with 12 points after 20 minutes of play.
• Redshirt freshman Grace Nelson's went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc and scored 11 total points, setting new career highs in both categories.
• Washington poured in a career-high tying 21 points, her second 20-point performance of the season and the Redbirds' fifth overall.
• Addison Martin continued her streak of scoring in double figures in every game so far this season with 19 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter. She added six boards and four assists for an all-around performance.
• Trista Fayta narrowly missed her second double-double of the season with 10 points, eight assists and four rebounds.
• Five Redbirds scored in double figures against the Golden Grizzlies: Washington (21), Martin (19), Hurt (12), Nelson (11) and Fayta (10). Illinois State is 36-10 when putting four-plus in double figures since the start of the 2023-24 campaign. This is the 15th time in the last three seasons that the Redbirds have had at least five double-figure scorers.
UP NEXT
The Redbirds will play their second MVC opponent of the season on Monday, Dec. 29, hosting Indiana State at 6:30 p.m. inside CEFCU Arena. The matchup kicks off a stretch of conference games to close out the rest of the regular season.
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