CORALVILLE, Iowa – Illinois State's dynamic sophomore duo of Trista Fayta and Doneelah Washington each recorded 20 points games against Drake on Friday night, as the No. 3 seed Redbirds (20-12) held a five-point lead at the break and never looked back in a 69-62 win over No. 6 seeded Bulldogs (12-20) in the quarterfinals of the Credit Union 1 MVC Women's Basketball Tournament at Xtreme Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The two teams traded baskets through the first five and a half minutes of the game, with Drake holding a 10-8 lead at the first media timeout. Coming out of the break, Fayta drilled a jumper to tie the game at 10-10 but a three-point play with 1:15 left would give the Bulldogs the lead once again at 15-12 and Drake would lead 16-13 after the first quarter.
• Drake went up by five at 24-19 three minutes into the second quarter, before a layup by Grace Nelson and a three-pointer by Jaeden Pratt tied the game at 24-24 with 6:34 left before the break. A pair of free throws by Fayta would give the Redbirds the lead back at 26-24 thirty seconds later to cap off a 7-0 run, before the Bulldogs tied it up once again at 26 all.
• A three-pointer by Washington with 1:45 left before halftime would put the Redbirds back up 31-30 and a driving layup by Kya Hurt extended the ISU lead to 33-30 thirty seconds later. A layup by Washington on a great pass from Hurt would then put the Redbirds up by five at 35-30 with 33 seconds left and they held onto that advantage headed to the locker room at halftime.
• The Bulldogs scored the first basket of the second half to cut the deficit to three, however the Redbirds answered with a 9-0 run over the next four minutes to extend the lead to 44-32 after a layup by Fayta. After the midway point of the quarter, Drake would go scoreless for over two and a half minutes, as the Redbirds made the lead 49-37 after consecutive layups by Addison Martin with under two minutes left in the period.
• ISU would take its largest lead of the game at 51-38 after a pair of free throws by Fayta a minute later before Abbie Aalsma drilled a three-pointer to make it a ten-point lead for the Redbirds at the end of three quarters, 51-41.
• Drake tried to chip away at the Redbird advantage over the first six minutes of the quarter, but the Redbirds remained strong and held a 60-53 lead with four minutes left in the contest. Two free throws by Fayta would give ISU a nine-point lead at 62-53 with just over three minutes to play.
• With under 30 seconds to play, Drake cut the deficit to five points at 67-62 but two late free throws from Fayta and Pratt would secure the win for the Redbirds and punch their ticket to the semifinals.
HIGHLIGHTS
• With the win, the Redbirds secured a 20-win campaign for the fourth-consecutive season under head coach Kristen Gillespie, marking the first time since 2007-08 to 2010-11 that the program has earned four straight seasons with 20+ wins.
• The victory put ISU in the semifinals of the MVC Tournament for the first time since 2023.
• The Redbird defense out-rebounded the Bulldogs 40-28 and did not allow any second-chance points to Drake on the night.
• Washington finished with 20 points, marking the 10th time this season she has scored 20 points or more in a game for the Redbirds. With her 22 points, Fayta recorded her third 20-plus point scoring effort of the year. It marks the sixth time this season that the Redbirds have had a pair of players score 20 or more in the same contest.
• Washington was credited with 10 rebounds in the contest, marking her 12th double-double of the year.
• Pratt recorded her second double-digit rebounding effort of the season and nearly had a double-double, with eight points against the Bulldogs.
• Martin also nearly notched a double-double, as she scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds in a solid effort against Drake.
UP NEXT
No. 3 seed Illinois State will take on No. 10 seed Evansville in the semifinals of the Credit Union 1 MVC Women's Basketball Tournament on Saturday, with tipoff set for 4 p.m. CT at the Xtreme Arena in Coralville, Iowa.|
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