Redbirds Drop Heartbreaker to Drake in MVC Tournament Quarterfinal

EVANSVILLE, IN – Shannon Dowell scored a career-high 30 points, but No.5 seed Illinois State women's basketball (21-11, 14-6 MVC) fell to No.4 seed Drake (22-10, 15-5 MVC) 75-69 Thursday in the second round of the Credit Union 1 MVC Women's Basketball Tournament at the Ford Center.  

HIGHLIGHTS  

• Dowell led all scorers Friday afternoon, finishing 10-for-11 from the free throw line. Addison Martin finished with 15 points and Maya Wong tallied 10 points to round out Illinois State's double-figure scorers.  

• Drake raced out to a 30-19 first-half lead, but Illinois State closed the first half on a 12-3 run to fight within 33-31 at the break. Dowell scored the final four points of the first half, including a steal and bucket with five seconds to go that capped off a run of six unanswered Redbird points.  

• Maya Wong knocked down a deep ball at the 7:50 mark of the third quarter to put Illinois State ahead for the first time since the opening moments of the game.  

• Both teams traded runs in the third quarter, before Dowell scored six straight points to close the third quarter and put Illinois State ahead 53-52 heading into the fourth quarter.  

• Wong's free throw at the 6:35 mark of the fourth gave Illinois State its largest lead at the time 60-55, however Drake answered and jumped ahead 62-61 with 5:11 to go. Illinois State responded with a 6-0 run behind four points from Martin and led 67-62 at the 3:32 mark.  

• Drake took a 69-67 lead with 28 seconds to go and never surrendered the advantage.  

GAME NOTES 

• Dowell is the first Redbird to score 30+ points in a single game since the 2022-23 campaign, when Paige Robinson put up 30 points vs Missouri State in Feb. of 2022. It's the most points by a Redbird at the MVC Tournament since at least 2009-10.  

• Illinois State finished with just two turnovers, the fewest for the program in a single game since at least 2009-10. 

• Dowell averaged 26.5 points per game on 51.6% shooting at the MVC Tournament. She was 21-for-22 from the free throw line across the two games (95.5%) along with 4.0 rebounds per game and 1.5 assists per game.  

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