SETTING THE SCENE
After returning from San Juan and competing in the annual Discover Puerto Rico Shootout, Illinois State is ready to open Missouri Valley Conference action on Wednesday when the Redbirds (4-4) travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to take on the UNI Panthers (2-4) at the McLeod Center.
THE SERIES
Illinois State and UNI will meet for the 94th time in program history on Wednesday night to open up Missouri Valley Conference play. The Redbirds lead the all-time series, 49-44, but have lost six of the last 10 matchups against the Panthers. The two squads first met on Dec. 3, 1976, when UNI won, 70-55. The Redbirds went on to win 22 straight games against the Panthers before losing in heartbreak fashion in overtime in 1994. ISU and UNI split the series last season, with the Redbirds winning at home, 79-66, and losing at the McLeod Center, 72-52.
THE FASTBREAK
• ISU went 0-3 against Rice, East Carolina and Wake Forest at the Puerto Rico Shootout last week.
• Addison Martin led the offense during the tournament, scoring a season-high 22 points and grabbing eight boards against Rice.
• Martin recorded her first double-double of the season versus East Carolina with 11 points and 10 rebounds while adding three assists and a steal.
• Doneelah Washington earned her third double-double of the season, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 boards while matching a career-high with two three-pointers against Wake Forest.
• Bella Finnegan finished with a season-best 16 points, going 4-for-6 from behind the arc against Saint Louis.
• Kya Hurt scored a career-high 16 points against the Billikens, including a 6-for-7 effort at the charity stripe.
• The 100-point output for the Redbirds against Chicago State was their first since scoring 110 against St. Francis last December.
• ISU outscored Dayton by 11 points in the third quarter to pull away for an 87-76 win in the 2025-26 season opener. The Redbirds had four players in doubles figures as ISU won its fourth-straight season opener and its sixth in the last seven seasons overall.
• The Redbirds were 24-13 overall last season, including a 14-6 mark in MVC play and a 14-4 record at home.ISU 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 advanced to the WNIT Semifinal for the fourth time in program history and for the first time since 2011. The Redbirds made three consecutive WNIT semifinal runs from 2009-11, 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.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• UNI sits at 2-4 on the season.
• Head coach Tanya Warren is in her 19th season at the helm of the Panthers. She was named the first black female head coach in MVC basketball history and has led UNI to two conference titles (2011, 2016).
• Taryn Wharton leads the Panthers with 10.5 points per contest.
• Elise Jaeger is a force down low, collecting 12 boards per game, which leads the conference. Her career-high performance of 15 points and 12 rebounds came against ISU on Feb. 9, 2025.
• UNI has two players ranked in the top five of the MVC in blocked shots, including Ryley Goebel (1st, 2.2) and Jaeger (4th, 1.3). The Panthers lead the conference as a team with 4.5 blocked shots per game.
• ISU and UNI have had one common opponent this season in Saint Louis. The Redbirds beat the Billikens, 81-75, while the Panthers fell, 62-58.
MVC OPENERS
• Illinois State is 5-3 in MVC openers under head coach Kristen Gillespie (2017-Pres.).
• The Redbirds are set to open Valley play on the road for the third time under Gillespie (2017 at UNI, 2024 at Murray State).
• Dec. 4 marks Illinois State's earliest game ever against an MVC foe.
MONEY MARTIN
• Addison Martin currently leads the MVC in minutes played per game (35.9).
• She ranks eighth in the conference in scoring with 15.3 points per contest. She is the only player ranked in the top 10 in scoring without a made three-pointer.
• The redshirt senior has scored in double figures in all eight games this season and leads the team with two 20-point outings.
• Martin led the MVC shooting 58.7% from the field in Valley play last season. She shot north of 50% in 16 MVC games, more than any player in the Valley.
• She had two 20+ outings in MVC play last season. That included a season-high performance of 23 points vs Southern Illinois Jan. 31, her first 20-point performance as a Redbird. She finished with 20 points and 8 rebounds at Drake Feb. 7.
MVC HONORS
• After helping the Redbirds to a pair of wins, Illinois State's Doneelah Washington and Kya Hurt both earned weekly player honors from the Missouri Valley Conference on Nov. 24. Washington was named the MVC Player of the Week, while Hurt was tabbed as the MVC Freshman of the Week by the league office.
• Washington delivered a dominant two-game stretch against Loyola and Saint Louis, averaging a double-double with 13.0 points and 13.5 rebounds
• Hurt made a major impact off the bench, averaging 11.5 points while shooting 50 percent from the field in the two victories.
DONEELAH DOWN LOW
• Doneelah Washington recorded her third double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Wake Forest.
• The sophomore forward scored 15 points and grabbed a career-high 14 boards while also adding five steals and a blocked shot versus Saint Louis.
• Washington's five steals against Saint Louis are the most in a single game for a Redbird since Terrion Moore had seven at Loyola Chicago on March 5, 2021.
• Washington ranks third in the MVC in rebounds (9.5), eighth in blocked shots (1.1) and 10th in steals (1.6) per game.
• Washington is just the third DI player with 15+ points, 10+ rebounds, 5+ steals and 4+ assists in a single game this season, joining UConn's Sarah Strong and Madison Booker of Texas.
HITTING THE CENTURY MARK
• Illinois State's final basket of the game with just 33 seconds left put the Redbirds over the century mark with 101 points, much to the delight of the thousands of kids in the stands chanting for 100 against Chicago State.
• It marked the first 100-point output for the Redbirds was since scoring 110 against St. Francis last December, and it was the fourth time under head coach Kristen Gillespie that ISU eclipsed the century mark.
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.
• Washington matched her career-high with two three-pointers against Wake Forest.
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.
• She currently leads the MVC and is tied for 31st in the NCAA with 5.5 assists per game.
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 35-10 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 45 games, and 5+ double-figure scorers in 14 games.
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 MVC 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
20+ WIN SEASON
• Illinois State secured a 20-win campaign for the third consecutive season under head coach Kristen Gillespie in 2024-25, marking the first time since 2008-09 to 2010-11 that the program has earned three consecutive seasons with 20+ wins.
• Illinois State's 24 wins last season tie the 2022-23 squad for the most in a single season under head coach Kristen Gillespie.
