Redbirds Look To Remain Undefeated Saturday Against Saint Louis

SETTING THE SCENE
Coming off a big win at home over one of the top mid-major programs in the country on Wednesday against Green Bay, Illinois State hits the road on Saturday looking to stay undefeated on the early season when the Redbirds (4-0) travel south on I-55 to take on the Saint Louis Billikens (2-1). Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. CT at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, and the game can be watched live on ESPN and heard locally on 98.9 FM WJEZ and on the Varsity App with Greg Halbleib on the call.

THE FASTBREAK
• The Redbirds are off to a 4-0 start for the first time since the 2022-23 season.
• Illinois State took a seven-point lead over Green Bay after one quarter, but went cold in the second quarter scoring just five points as the Phoenix took a two-point lead into the locker room at half. However, the Redbirds 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 at CEFCU Arena.
• Danyella Mporokoso set career-highs with 20 points and four three-pointers (4-for-5) made in the contest against Green Bay while adding four rebounds to her stat line … Mporokoso's 20-point effort was the sixth 20-plus point performance of the season for a Redbird player.
• Nevaeh 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
• 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.
• Transfer forward Hannah Chicken was named the Newcomer of the Week by the MVC after the first week of the season. Chicken made an immediate impact in her first three games with the Redbirds, averaging a double-double of 16.0 points and 10.3 rebounds while helping lead Illinois State to an undefeated 3-0 start.Chicken shot 51.4 percent from the field for the week, totaling 48 points, 31 rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks.
• The Redbirds were picked second in the annual MVC preseason poll. 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. 
• Illinois State secured a 20-win campaign for the fourth-consecutive season under head coach Kristen Gillespie in 2025-26, marking the first time since 2007-08 to 2010-11 that the program has earned four consecutive seasons with 20+ wins.  Illinois State's 24 wins last season tie the 2022-23 squad for the most in a single season under head coach Kristen Gillespie.

SERIES VS. SAINT LOUIS
Illinois State and Saint Louis will meet for the eighth time in program history, with the Redbirds holding a 4-3 lead in the all-time series. The Redbirds won the most recent meeting between the two teams on Nov. 21, 2025, by an 81-75 margin at CEFCU Arena. Both squads have taken care of business at home in the series, with ISU winning all four at home and the Billikens going 3-0 in Saint Louis.

SCOUTING THE BILLIKENS
• The Billikens are off to a 2-1 start to the season, after a win on Wednesday over Eastern Illinois to extend their winning streak to two.
• Saint Louis returns five players from last season's squad that went 12-21 overall and 5-13 in conference action.
• Saint Louis was picked to finish sixth in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll, with Alyssa Koerkenmeier named Preseason First-Team All-Conference and to the All-Defensive Team.
• Tyonna Bailey was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week for her 29- and 25-point performances in the first week of the regular season ... Bailey ranks fourth nationally with 27.0 ppg and adds 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
• Saint Louis has the three top shot blockers in the conference with D'Myjah Bolds, Jameela James and Koerkenmeier as the team is averaging 9.0 per game.

OFF TO A HOT START
• ISU (4-0) is off to its best start since the 2022-23 campaign, when the Redbirds started the season 5-0 before suffering their first loss at UNLV and going on to finish with a 24-9 overall record.
• Illinois State is averaging a league-high 92.0 points per game heading in the second week of season - the 7th-highest average in Division I hoops.

FOUR FOR THE SHOW
• The win over Green Baymarked 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).
• Danyella Mporokoso (20), Nevaeh Thomas (17), Grace Nelson (14) and Trista Fayta (13) spread out the scoring against the Phoenix to pick up the victory.

FRESHMAN PHENOM
• Freshman guard Danyella Mporokoso has been stellar to start her career and saved her best performance for a big stage, as she set career-highs with 20 points and four three-pointers (4-for-5) made in the win over Green Bay, 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).

TRISTA TAKES OVER
• After being held scoreless in the first half, point guard Trista Fayta took over the fourth quarter in ISU's win over Green Bay.
• 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 over the Phoenix.

DOUBLE THE FUN FOR CHICKEN
• Transfer Hannah Chicken has made an immediate impact in her first three games with the Redbirds, averaging a double-double of 16.0 points and 10.3 rebounds while helping lead Illinois State to an undefeated 3-0 start. • She recorded double-doubles in each of the final two contests of the week, posting 19 points and 13 rebounds in a 91-87 road victory at Dayton before following with 20 points and 12 rebounds in a 96-54 win over Augustana. 
• Chicken shot 51.4 percent from the field for the week, totaling 48 points, 31 rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks.
• For her efforts, Chicken was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week (Nov. 9).
• Her 31 rebounds through three games lead the MVC, and she was the only league player to average a double-double through the opening week of the season.

TRISTA HAS A NIGHT
• When the Redbirds needed her the most, Trista Fayta came up big for ISU in the overtime win at Dayton.
• Fayta led a quartet of Redbirds in double figures with a career-high 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field to go along with eight assist and eight rebounds.
• She is the only player in the country this season to have 28+ points, 8+ rebounds and 8+ assists in a single game and since 2009-10, there have been only three MVC players to post that stat line.

BACK-TO-BACK FOR THOMAS
• For the second-straight game, Nevaeh Thomas posted a 20-plus point scoring effort for ISU.
• Thomas finished with 20 points and just missed out on a double-double with nine rebounds in the win over Dayton.
• She is the first Redbird to score 20-plus points in the first two games of the season since Jamie Russell started the 2012-13 season with a pair of 20-plus point performances.

TRIPLE DIGITS ONCE AGAIN
• The Redbirds scored 100-plus points against Chicago State for the third-straight time at CEFCU Arena in the 2026-27 season opener
… the 106 points scored are the most ever for ISU against Chicago State.
•  ISU scored nearly half of its points (50) in the paint and had 16 second-chance points … the Redbirds also got 51 points off the bench in the contest, led by the 21 from Grace Nelson.

TWO FOR THE SHOW
• For the second-straight season, the Redbirds had a pair of 20-plus point scorers in the season opener, with Nevaeh Thomas (23) and Grace Nelson (21) both finishing with 20 or more against Chicago State … last year, Doneelah Washington and Addison Martin each had 20 or more in the season opener vs. Dayton.
• The 23 points by Thomas are the most for an ISU player in an opener since Shannon Dowell also scored 23 in the 2024-25 season opener against Northwestern … Thomas also added eight rebounds in the contest to go along with three assists and two steals.
• Nelson finished just two points shy of her career high with the 21 points on a career-best 8-for-10 shooting from the field … she tied a career-high with five made three-pointers in just 18 minutes of action.

STRONG DEBUTS FOR THE FRESHMEN
• Illinois State got a couple of strong performances from highly touted freshman in the season opening with over Chicago State, as Danyella Mporokoso and Kennedy Stowers each scored in double figures in their collegiate debuts.
• Mporokoso had 16 points in her collegiate debut to go along with five assists ... she is the first ISU freshman to have 15+ points and 5+ assists in her debut since the 2009-10 season and is one of only two MVC freshmen to have that stat line in an opener since 09-10.
• Stowers tallied a double-double in her debut with 13 points and 10 boards against the Cougars ... Stowers is the only Redbird freshman to have a double-double in the opener since the 2009-10 season and currently is one of just three freshman since that time to post a double double in their collegiate debut (Abby Feit of Evansville and Tiara Wallace of Loyola the others).

BIRDS PICKED SECOND
• 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 AS MVC 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 comes to ISU after spending the previous two seasons at Alabama and Indiana, while Mporokoso begins her collegiate career after being named the 2025-26 Gatorade Illinois Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

FAYTA FINDS THEM ALL
• Trista Fayta broke the ISU single-season assist record of 203 set by Redbird Hall of Famer Kristi Cirone during the 2008-09 season by recording 218 last season
• She ranked No. 8 in Division I in assists (218) and No. 16 in assists per game (5.7) and led the MVC in both of those categories.
• She was third in the league in assist/turnover ratio at 1.7 and had five contests with double digits in assists, becoming the only Redbird since 2009-10 to have multiple games of 10+ assists in a single season.

INTERNATIONAL REDBIRD FLAIR
• The 2026-27 roster features some international flair for the Redbirds, with the additions of transfer Hannah Chicken (Australia) and freshman Christina Köppel (Austria).
• Chicken, a Newcastle, New South Wales, product transfered to Illinois State from Portland State, where she ranked second on the team with 11.4 points per game while leading the Vikings with a .489 field goal percentage and .413 three-point field goal percentage last season.
• Köppel, a Wolfsberg, Austria, native, 11 games during the 2025-26 season, played internationally for UBSC-DBBC Graz and averaged 10.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in 27.4 minutes of action per game last season.