NORMAL, Ill. – The 2026-27 season will get off to a fast start for the Illinois State women's basketball team, who will the play its first game of the season and first of three in the opening week of play on Monday, when the Redbirds host in-state foe Chicago State at CEFCU Arena. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and the game can be seen on ESPN+ and hear on WJBC AM 1230 or on the Varsity app.
SEASON LID LIFTER
After playing crosstown rival Illinois Wesleyan the past two years in exhibition games at CEFCU Arena, the Redbirds hosted their lone exhibition contest against the SIUE Cougars on Oct. 26. Three Illinois State players scored in a double figures, led by a double-double from Nevaeh Thomas, as ISU defeated SIUE by a final of 93-59 in a preseason exhibition test. Thomas made her triumphant return to the lineup after missing all but four games last year due to an injury, and scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to go along with five assists. Freshman Danyella Mporokoso was stellar in her debut as well, scoring 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field with a 5-for-7 effort from the charity stripe, and transfer Chloe Spreen was the third Redbird to score in double figures, as she finished the game with 14 points, including a 2-for-2 effort from three-point range.
ABOUT LAST YEARÂ
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
Illinois State and Chicago State will meet for the seventh in program history, with Illinois State leading the series 6-0. The two teams will play for the fourth-straight season, with the Redbirds picking up 101-52 win over Chicago state last November. Overall, the Redbirds are 4-0 in games played against the Cougars at CEFCU Arena and in four victories, ISU has won by an average of 34 with the biggest win a 102-47 margin in 2023.
SCOUTING CHICAGO STATE
Chicago State is coming off a 9-23 record during the 2025-26 campaign and were picked to finish seventh in the NEC Preseason Poll for the 2026-27 season. The Cougars are led by NEC second team all-star Keona McGee, who returns for her junior season to lead Chicago State in its quest for a third-straight conference postseason appearance and first NEC title.
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