Fort Collins, CO – Illinois State women's basketball received a First-Round bye in the 2025 WNIT bracket, revealed Monday by the WNIT office. The Redbirds will play the First-Round winner of Western Illinois and Lipscomb, which is scheduled for Thursday in Macomb, Ill.
Date, time and location of Illinois State's Second Round matchup will be announced at a later time. The WNIT Second Round is set for March 23-25.
The Redbirds and Leathernecks have not met since 2020, in an 85-55 win for Illinois State in Macomb. The Redbirds lead the all-time series 43-4 over Western Illinois, including a pair of wins under head coach Kristen Gillespie. Illinois State and Lipscomb have never met.
Illinois State (21-12, 14-6 MVC) earned a third-consecutive 20-win campaign under Gillespie this season. It is the first time since the 2008-09 to 2010-11 campaigns that the program has earned three consecutive seasons of 20+ victories.
The Redbirds earned their fifth-straight postseason bid, which includes a trip to the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Illinois State is set to make its 16th appearance all-time in the WNIT and its fourth trip to the WNIT in Gillespie's tenure. The Redbirds earned a WNIT bid for the third consecutive season.
Illinois State is 16-10 overall in the WNIT since 2000, which includes a win over Charleston last season inside CEFCU Arena that booked a trip to the 2024 WNIT Super 16.
ABOUT THE WNIT
The 2024 field features a 48-team field that includes 11 automatic qualifiers and 37 at-large selections chosen after consideration of a mix of criteria by WNIT officials. There are 22 teams that won 20 or more games this season, which includes the 21-win Redbirds. All games are set to be hosted on campus sites, with Round 1 tipping off March 20-22. The 2025 WNIT Championship is Saturday, April 5 at 3 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
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