NORMAL, Ill. – For the 12 time in as many chances, Illinois State (14-9, 8-4 MVC) picked up a win at home thanks to a career-best 23 points from Trista Faya as the Redbirds won their fourth-straight game with a 77-70 victory over Drake (6-17, 5-8 MVC) Saturday afternoon on Doug Collins Court at CEFCU Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Illinois State jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first two-plus minutes of the game, five of which came from Fayta before the Bulldogs got their first bucket of the game. Drake would then go on a 13-2 run to take the lead at 13-9 with just under four minutes left in the opening quarter.
• Immediately out of the first media timeout of the game, Bella Finnegan came in off the bench and drilled a three pointer to get the Redbirds within one at 13-12. On the next Redbird possession, Fayta connected on a pair of free throws to give the Redbirds the lead back at 14-13. Drake then took the lead, before Finnegan would drill her second three of the game to put the Birds back in front at 17-15.
• After a third tie, a fastbreak layup by Fayta and a jumper in the lane at the buzzer by Addison Martin gave ISU a four-point lead at 21-17 headed to the second quarter.
• Four-straight points to start the quarter from Jaeden Pratt would keep the lead at four for ISU, before five-straight points on a jumper by Fayta and a three-pointer by Kya Hurt gave the Birds a 9-point lead at the media timeout. Three-straight buckets by Doneelah Washington would then give ISU its biggest lead to date at 36-23 with 2:39 left before halftime.
• Drake would go on an 8-0 run to end the quarter and make the score 36-31 in favor of Illinois State at the break.
• The Bulldogs came out firing to start the third quarter, going on a 10-4 run to take a 41-40 lead at the 6:53 mark on a jumper by Anna Becker. A layup a minute later by Madison Austin would give the Redbirds the lead back at 42-41 and traditional three-point play by Fayta would extend the lead to four at 45-41 midway through the third quarter.
• A jumper by Finnegan and a three-point play by Washington would give the Redbirds a 50-43 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the quarter, before Abbie Aalsma hit four-straight free throws to trim the deficit to 50-47. A jumper by De'Shawnti Thomas and a layup by Washington would then push the ISU lead to eight at 55-47 with 1:37 left.
• A layup at the buzzer by Fayta would give the Redbirds an 8-point advantage at 59-51 heading into the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs would start the final quarter on a 5-0 run, before a pair of free throws by Washington kept the Redbird lead at five at 61-56 just over a minute into the stanza.
• Drake would trim the ISU lead to one at 67-66 with 3:20 to play on a jumper by Aalsma, but the Redbirds would answer on the other end on a three-point play by Madison Austion to make it 70-66 with under three to play. A layup by Fayta a minute later would give her a new career high of 21 points and push the lead back to six points at 72-66.
• Two clutch free throws by Fayta with 38 seconds left maintained the ISU lead at 74-68 and the Redbirds would hold on for a 77-70 victory to stay undefeated on Doug Collins Court this season.
HIGHLIGHTS
• With the win, the Redbirds have won four-straight games and seven out of their last eight overall.
• The victory also moves ISU to 12-0 at home to start the season, the best start at home since the 2019-20 season
• ISU head coach Kristen Gillespie earned victory No. 171 in her time at Illinois State, which puts her in the Top 10 all-time in Missouri Valley Conference history.
• The Redbirds held Drake, which came into the game shooting nearly 30 percent from three-point range, to just 18 percent from long range while ISU shot 36 percent from three in the contest.
• Fayta just missed her second triple-double performance of the season, with a career-high 23 points to go along with nine assists and seven rebounds in the win over Drake.
• Washington finished with 20 points, marking her eighth game of the season with 20 points or more. Washington added six rebounds and two blocks to round out the solid effort.
• Finnegan rounded out a trio of Redbirds in double figures with 10 points, including two big makes from beyond the arch.
UP NEXT
Illinois State will hit the road for a pair of games next weekend at Southern Illinois (Friday) and Evansville (Sunday)
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