NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State shot over 60 percent from the field in the first quarter to take a seven-point lead after the first 10 minutes of play but went cold in the second quarter scoring just five points as Green Bay took a two-point lead into the locker room. However, the Redbirds (4-0) made necessary adjustments at the break and pulled away in the fourth quarter thanks to 10 points in the final 10 minutes by Trista Fayta to secure a 75-66 win over the Phoenix (1-2) on Wednesday night on Doug Collins Court at CEFCU Arena.

HOW IT HAPPENED 
•    Green Bay jumped out to a 9-5 lead to start the contest, but the Redbirds answered with a 14-0 run over a four-minute stretch to take a 19-9 lead … Danyella Mporokoso scored five points in the run, including one from long distance, while Grace Nelson also added five points thanks to a three pointer of her own.
•    The Phoenix would finish the first quarter by scoring six-straight points to cut into the Redbird lead at 19-15, before Nelson drilled her second three of the quarter to give the Redbirds a 22-15 lead after the first 10 minutes of action … the Redbirds shot 61.5 percent from the field to start the contest, including a 3-for-4 effort from long range.
•    After ISU scored the first points of the second quarter, Green Bay used a 9-0 run over the next first four-plus minutes to knot the game on a three-pointer at 24-24, before Mporokoso drilled a three-pointer to give the lead right back at 27-24 with 5:30 remaining in the stanza.
•    A three-pointer by the Phoenix tied the game at 27-27 and neither team scored again until Green Bay connected on a jumper with 35 seconds left in the quarter gave the Phoenix a 29-27 advantage at halftime.
•    Mporokoso scored the first five points for the Redbirds of the third quarter and Nevaeh Thomas scored on a layup down low with 8:56 left in the quarter to put the Redbirds up by three at 34-31, before McKenna Johnson hit a three of her own to tie the game just a minute later at 34-34.
•    Neither team held more than a two-point advantage over the next six minutes as the lead changed three times, until Fayta converted a three-point play to give the Redbirds a 45-42 lead with just under two minutes left in the third. A jumper by Maddy Skorupski with 1:02 remaining would give Green Bay the lead once again at 46-45, but a three-pointer at the buzzer by Mporokoso would give the Redbirds a 48-46 lead headed to the fourth quarter.
•    A three-point play on a layup and make at the line for Fayta and a long-range three-pointer by Nelson would then stake the Redbirds to a 54-48 lead with 8:41 left in the contest. A jumper by Thomas would then push the lead out to seven for the Redbirds at 59-52 with 5:53 left and Fayta would add a four-point play to push the lead out to eight points at 63-55 with just over four to play.
•    A pair of free throws would give Mporokoso her first 20-plus point effort of her career and widen the ISU lead to nine at 67-58 with under three to play. A pair of free throws by Thomas would grow the lead to as many as 11 for the Redbirds at the 2:30 mark before a three-pointer by Skorupski would trim the ISU lead to eight points at 71-63 with just over a minute to play.
•    Three free throws by Fayta in the final 60 seconds would push the lead back to 11 for the Redbirds and they would hold on for a 75-66 win over the Phoenix.

HIGHLIGHTS 
•    After scoring just five points in the second quarter, the Redbirds rallied in the second half to shoot 56 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from three-point range to pull away for the victory … ISU also outrebounded Green Bay 17-11 in the final 20 minutes of action and finished the game with a +9 margin at 37-28.
•    The game was tied a total of eight times and featured 10 lead changes, before the Redbirds got the three-pointer at the buzzer to end the third quarter by Mporokoso and never gave the lead back the rest of the way, outscoring the Phoenix 27-20 in the final quarter of action.
•    Illinois State is 4-0 to start the season for the first time since the 2022-23 campaign, when the Redbirds began the year 5-0 before suffering their first defeat on the road at UNLV.
•    Wednesday's win marked the fourth-straight game with at least four players scoring in double figures for the Redbirds (they had five score 10 or more in the season opener against Chicago State).
•    The freshman phenom Mporokoso set career-highs with 20 points and four three-pointers (4-for-5) made in the contest while adding four rebounds to her stat line … Mporokoso's 20-point effort was the sixth 20-plus performance of the season for a Redbird player, joining Thomas (2), Fayta (1), Nelson (1) and Hannah Chicken (1).
•    Thomas recorded her first double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds, marking her fourth-straight game in double figures to start the year … the double-double is the 17th in her collegiate career and 11th as a Redbird.
•    Fayta scored all 13 of her points in the second half, with 10 coming in the final quarter, while chipping in five assists and two rebounds in the victory.
•    Nelson rounded out the Redbird quartet in double figures with 14 points, thanks to a 3-for-5 effort from long distance.

UP NEXT 
The Redbirds return to action on Saturday, when they head south on I-55 to take on the Saint Louis Billikens (2-1). Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. CT at Chaifetz Arena and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The audio broadcast can be heard locally on 98.9 FM WJEZ and on the Varsity App, with Greg Halbleib on the call.

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