Redbirds Look To Stay Hot At Home; Host Valpo On Thursday

SETTING THE SCENE
Illinois State has been a tough team to play in the friendly confines of CEFCU Arena, and it will look to continue that streak at home Thursday night against Valparaiso in the final contest of a three-game homestand. The Redbirds (9-8, 3-3 MVC) are undefeated at home this season (8-0) and are seeking a third-straight victory, while the Beacons (0-17, 0-6 MVC) are looking for their first victory of the season and first in MVC play.

THE SERIES
Thursday's contest marks the 21st meeting between the Redbirds and the Beacons. Illinois State leads the all-time series, 16-4, and has won nine of the last 10 games, including eight straight victories. ISU has never lost two contests in a row in the series. The most recent meeting between ISU and Valparaiso ended in a 90-68 Redbird win on March 1, 2025. The inaugural meeting between the two programs came on Jan. 10, 1980, when ISU throttled Valpo, 84-35, which still stands as the largest margin of victory in the series. The Redbirds hold an 8-3 record at home against the Beacons and hope to remain perfect at CEFCU Arena this season with a win on Thursday night.

THE FASTBREAK
• Illinois State enters Thursday's contest on a two-game win streak with victories over UIC and Evansville last week.
• The Redbirds have started 8-0 at home for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
• After averaging a double-double for the week and helping Illinois State to a pair of wins at home over UIC and Evansville, sophomore forward Doneelah Washington has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week for the second time this season. She previously earned the honor on Nov. 24.
• ISU dropped two close road contests at Murray State and Belmont to kick off 2026, including a double overtime loss to the Racers on Jan. 2
• ISU shot .636 from the field against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, the sixth-highest field goal percentage in program history and the highest in the Missouri Valley Conference this season.
• Five Redbirds scored in double figures against Oakland. Doneelah Washington led all scorers with 21 points, while  Addison Martin scored in double figures for the 12th straight game with 19 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter.
• Jaeden Pratt had the best game of her young career in ISU's win over Eastern Illinois, recording a career-high 15 points and nine rebounds while going 6-for-7 from the field and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.
• Washington notched a career-high seven steals against Eastern Illinois, the most in a single game for a Redbird since Terrion Moore had seven at Loyola Chicago on March 5, 2021. She also added 10 points and nine rebounds in the win.
• Trista Fayta produced an all-around performance against UNI, scoring a game-high 19 points while adding seven assists and six boards.
• Washington recorded a new-career high with three triples against UNI.
• Madison Austin pulled down a career-high six boards in just under 11 minutes of play against UNI.

SCOUTING THE BEACONS
• Courtney Boyd is in her first season at the helm of he Beacons. In six seasons at Clarke University and two at Quincy University, Boyd won 20 or more games in seven of her eight seasons and led Clarke to an NAIA national title.
• The Valpo offense is led by Fiona Connolly, who averages 12.3 points per contest while shooting 42.4% from the field. Connolly averages 11.7 points per game against MVC opponents.
• Kamryn Winch leads the Beacons down low with 5.8 boards per game.
• Valpo is third in the conference with 27.8 team defensive rebounds and 3.35 blocked shots per outing.

100 MVC WINS FOR GILLESPIE
• With ISU's 75-61 win over UIC on Jan. 8, Redbird head coach Kristen Gillespie notched her 100th career Missouri Valley Conference victory.
• Ahead of ISU's matchup with Evansville, Gillespie received a commemorative ball in recognition of becoming the 10th coach in MVC history to reach triple-digit wins.

WASHINGTON WOWS
• With a career-high 26 points and 10 boards against Evansville, Doneelah Washington notched her seventh double-double of the season (third straight) and her second 20-point, 10-rebound game as a Redbird. 
• She is the fifth Redbird in the Gillespie era to record multiple 20-point, 10-rebound games in their career, joining Nevaeh Thomas, DeAnna Wilson, JuJu Redmond and Simone Goods.
• In the Kristen Gillespie era, Washington became the 10th Redbird to post a 20-point, 10-rebound performance. 

MVC HONORS
• After averaging a double-double of 22.5 points and 10 rebounds for the week and helping Illinois State to a pair of wins at home over UIC and Evansville, sophomore forward Doneelah Washington was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week on Jan. 12.
• After helping the Redbirds to a pair of wins, 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's career-high 26 points against Evansville are tied for the most by any Redbird player this season (Kya Hurt the other). She also added 10 rebounds, four steals and two blocks for an all-around performance.
• Washington has now scored 15 or more points in six-straight games and 11 times this season. 
• She is one of only five MVC players since 2009-10 with 25+ points, 10+ rebounds, 4+ steals and 2+ blocks in a game against an MVC opponent. Washington is also the only ISU player since 2009-10 with that same stat line.
• Washington ranks third in the MVC in rebounds (9.1) and second in blocked shots (1.5) and in steals (2.3) per game.
• Washington is one of eight DI players and the only Valley player with 15+ points, 10+ rebounds, 5+ steals and 4+ assists in a single game this season, joining UConn's Sarah Strong, Saint Joseph's Aleah Snead and Madison Booker of Texas.
• Washington is currently the only MVC player ranked in the top-three in the league in rebounds, offensive rebounds, blocks and steals.
• Washington's career-high five blocked shots against Nebraska are the most in a single-game for a Redbird since Kate Bullman had six versus Evansville on Feb. 25, 2024.
• Washington's career-high seven steals against Eastern Illinois are the most for a Redbird since Terrion Moore had seven at Loyola Chicago on March 5, 2021.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME
• Illinois State holds a perfect 8-0 mark at CEFCU Arena this season, tying the best start at home under head coach Kristen Gillespie.
• The Redbirds have protected home court well over the last four years, posting a 47-9 record since the start of the 2022-23 season.
• The Redbirds won their home opener for the fourth consecutive season as Illinois State secured an 87-76 win over Dayton. 
• Illinois State posted a 14-4 mark at CEFCU Arena last year, tied for the second-most wins at home in a single season in program history.

BALANCED EFFORT
• The Redbirds finished with 4+ double-figure scorers in 25 games last season and have done so in nine games so far in the 2025-26 season.
• Illinois State is 39-11 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 50 games, and 5+ double-figure scorers in 15.

NELSON FROM DOWNTOWN
• Grace Nelson had two impressive outings against the Racers and the Bruins, especially from three-point land.
• Nelson matched her career-high with four triples against Murray State before hitting a career-best five treys against Belmont to round off a 20-point performance. She has scored in double figures in four of the last six contests, including a 10-point outing in the Redbirds' most recent contest against Evansville.
• Over the last six games, the true freshman is averaging 11.3 points in 22 minutes per game while shooting 50% from beyond the arc (16-for-32) and 51.2% from the field (22-for-43).

MONEY MARTIN
• Addison Martin is second in the MVC in minutes played per game (35.5).
• The redshirt senior scored in double figures in 14 straight games to start the season and has done so in 16 of the Birds' 17 contests.
• Martin has recorded three double-doubles this season, with her most recent coming against Murray State (13 points, 10 rebounds).
• She ranks 14th in the conference in scoring with 13.6 points per contest. She is one of three players ranked in the top 15 in scoring without a made three-pointer.
• 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. 

FAYTA TAKES OVER
• She currently leads the MVC and is tied for 26th in the NCAA with 5.5 assists per game.
• 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.
• Addison Martin joined the exclusive club with a career-high 10 assists against Murray State on Jan. 2.