NORMAL, Ill. – Don't look now but basketball season is upon us, as the Illinois State women's basketball team will host in-state foe SIU for its lone exhibition contest on Monday night inside CEFCU Arena at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free for all fans and no video broadcast will be available, but fans can listen live on the Varsity Network, WJBC AM 1230 and FM 102.1.
SEASON LID LIFTER
After playing crosstown rival Illinois Wesleyan the past two years in exhibition games at CEFCU Arena, the Redbirds will open the 2026-27 season with an exhibition contest against the SIUE Cougars. The game comes exactly a week before the regular season opener on Monday, November 2, at CEFCU arena against in-state foe Chicago State. The non-conference slate includes five contests inside CEFCU Arena and features four teams that played in the postseason a year ago, including a pair of teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. ISU will play 12 non-con games before opening the MVC slate on December 20 against Valparaiso at CEFCU Arena.
ABOUT LAST YEAR
The Redbirds return seven players from last season's squad that advanced to the WNIT Championship game. Illinois State earned a postseason bid for the sixth consecutive season and posted a 20-win campaign for the fourth straight year. The Redbirds were 24-14 overall last season, including a 13-7 mark in MVC play and a 17-1 record at home at CEFCU Arena. The Redbirds' 17 home victories are the most home wins by Illinois State in the Kristen Gillespie era and tied the 2010-11 team that also went 17-1 at home.
BIRDS PICKED SECOND IN PRESEASON POLL
The Redbirds were picked second in the annual Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball preseason poll, which is voted on by Valley head coaches, communications directors and a media panel. Murray State, which is coming off back-to-back regular-season and tournament titles, was picked as the preseason favorite after receiving 41 of 44 possible first-place votes and 477 total points. The Redbirds were picked to finish second in the poll with 396 points, while Belmont picked up a pair of first-place votes and 375 total points to place third. Northern Iowa collected the final first-place vote and 343 points and fourth place, while Drake (317) and UIC (267) rounded out the league's preseason favorites.
FOUR REDBIRDS NAMED PLAYERS TO WATCH
The Redbirds had four players named to the Missouri Valley Conference "Players to Watch" list for the upcoming 2026-27 season. Returners Trista Fayta and Nevaeh Thomas were joined on the list by newcomers Chloe Spreen and Danyella Mporokoso. Last season, Fayta broke the ISU single-season assist record (218) and ranked No. 8 in Division I in assists and No. 16 in assists per game (5.7). She led the MVC in both of those categories and was third in the league in assist/turnover ratio at 1.7. Thomas returns after missing all but four games last season due to an injury, following a sophomore campaign in 2024-25 where she averaged 12.1 points, a team-high 7.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Spreen joins Illinois State after spending the previous two seasons at Indiana and Alabama, while the highly touted Mporokoso begins her collegiate career after being named the 2025-26 Gatorade Illinois Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
AGAINST THE COUGARS
Monday's game may not count in the official record books, however Illinois State and SIUE are no strangers to squaring off on the court. The two teams have met nine times during the regular season, with ISU leading the series 6-3. The Redbirds are 4-1 against the Cougars in games at CEFCU Arena, and have won four out of the last five games against SIU in the series.
SCOUTING SIUE
SIUE was picked to finish second in the Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Poll, just one year after SIUE was selected to finish last in the 2025-26 OVC Preseason Poll. The Cougars ultimately exceeded those expectations, finishing four spots higher in conference standings to end the season. Returning All-OVC selections Kiyoko Proctor and Lauren Miller headline the SIUE women's squad, each coming off great seasons a year ago. Proctor became the first player in SIUE history to earn OVC Freshman of the Year honors after leading the team with 13.4 points per game. Miller averaged 12.4 points per contest and became the first player in program history to earn OVC Freshman of the Week recognition five times.
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