NORMAL, Ill. – A 13–2 surge to close the first half propelled Illinois State women's basketball (8–8, 2–3) to a double-digit halftime lead, one the Redbirds never relinquished en route to a 75-61 win over the UIC Flames (7–9, 2–3) on Thursday night at CEFCU Arena. The win marked head coach Kristen Gillespie's 100th career Missouri Valley Conference victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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The Redbird defense forced a shot clock violation on UIC's first possession, and then Doneelah Washington earned the opening bucket of the game with a left-handed layup. The Flames scored four straight points to take the lead, but it didn't last long, as Washington drew a shooting foul and hit two free throws to tie the game back up.
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A UIC turnover led to a Kya Hurt jumper, putting the Redbirds ahead, 6-4, with 7:04 left in the quarter. After the Flames knotted the game at six apiece, Trista Fayta scored the first triple of the game to regain the Birds' lead. Illinois State led, 11-7, at the first media timeout.
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Addison Martin scored her first points of the game to put ISU ahead, 14-11, but UIC quickly answered with two straight layups to take a one-point advantage with 2:08 left in the period. An ISU turnover resulted in two more points for the Flames, growing their lead to three.
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Grace Nelson drew a shooting foul and made both free throws, and then Washington snagged a steal and converted a fastbreak layup at the buzzer to give the Birds an 18-17 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.
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UIC forced a turnover to start the second quarter and tied the game at 18 with a free throw. ISU then forced two turnovers in a row, and Washington continued her perfect shooting night so far with a layup and a triple from the top of the arc to put the Birds ahead by five. ISU led, 25-22, at the media timeout with 4:58 left in the half.
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Out of the timeout, Nelson hit her first three of the game and her 10th trey in the last three contests. Kya Hurt followed that up with a layup to force UIC to use a timeout with 4:10 remaining. Nelson stayed hot from downtown, splashing another three to give the Redbirds a double-digit edge and to bring the fans sporting red inside CEFCU Arena on their feet.
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Fayta drove her way to the hoop, earning the bucket plus the foul to surge ISU's lead to 12. ISU ended the half strong, going into the locker room with a 36-24 edge over UIC.
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ISU scored six straight points, two layups by Martin and a pullup jumper from Hurt, to increase its lead to 18 right out of the locker room. UIC responded with two straight buckets, but Jaeden Pratt put a stop to the Flames' short burst of momentum with an and-one bucket. Pratt then splashed a triple to put ISU ahead by 20 with 6:35 left in the quarter.
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UIC didn't score for the final 2:03 of the third period, and the Redbirds entered the fourth quarter with a healthy 21-point advantage. Pratt and Martin led the offense in the third with six points each.
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UIC began the final quarter on a 4-0 run to force an ISU timeout. Bella Finnegan ended ISU's scoring drought with a triple, her first score of the night.
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In the final minutes of the game, UIC scored six straight to cut its deficit to 17, but layups from Madison Austin and Pratt kept the Redbirds in control. Pratt led the offense once again in the fourth quarter with six points. ISU earned its second conference win of the season and first victory of 2026 with a 75-61 win.
HIGHLIGHTS
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With Thursday's victory, Gillespie earned her 100th career MVC win at the helm of the Redbirds.
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Five Redbirds scored in the first period, including Washington, who went 3-for-3 from the field and hit two free throws for a game-leading eight points.
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Washington led all scorers with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting at the break, securing her fifth-straight double-digit scoring performance and 12th in the last 13 contests.
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ISU ended the first half on a 13-2 run, and the Birds' defense didn't allow the Flames to score for the final 3:08 of the second period.
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Four Redbirds scored in double figures: Washington (19), Pratt (12), Fayta (10) and Martin (10). The Redbirds have finished with four-plus double-figure scorers in eight games so far this season. ISU is 38-11 when putting four-plus in double figures since the start of the 2023-24 campaign. Over the last three seasons, ISU has finished with four-plus double figure scorers in 49 games.
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Washington ended the game with 19 points and 10 boards for her second-straight double-double and sixth of the season.
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Over the last five games, Nelson is averaging 11.6 points per game while shooting 58.3% from beyond the arc and 51.4% from the field.
UP NEXT
ISU welcomes Evansville to CEFCU Arena on Sunday, with tipoff slated for 2 p.m.
