Redbirds Drop Heartbreaker To Evansville In OT In MVC Semifinals, 75-70

CORALVILLE, Iowa – A three-pointer by Bella Finnegan with under 10 seconds to play would tie the game for Illinois State and send Saturday's game against Evansville into overtime. However, the No. 10 seeded Purple Aces outscored the No. 3 seeded Redbirds by a 15-10 margin in the extra period to come away with a 75-70 win in the semifinals of the 2026 Credit Union 1 MVC Women's Basketball Tournament at Xtreme Arena.

HOW IT HAPPENED 
•    Evansville jumped out to an 8-2 lead after back-to-back three-pointers, before a jumper in the lane by Doneelah Washington and a three-pointer from Trista Fayta cut the Aces advantage to one at 8-7 three minutes into the contest. 
•    The Redbirds took their second lead of the on a fastbreak layup by Grace Nelson, before Evansville got the lead right back and held a 12-11 lead at the media time out. The Purple Aces took a six-point lead at 19-13 into the second quarter, after draining their third triple of the quarter.
•    ISU opened the second quarter on a 5-0 run on a three-pointer by Jaeden Pratt and a layup from Washington to trim the deficit to one at 19-18, but it was quickly answered with another three by the Aces to make it 22-18. A layup by Addison Martin would then cut the Evansville lead to two at 22-20, before both teams went through prolonged scoreless droughts. 
•    Fayta would snap a three-plus minute drought for the Redbirds with a layup to tie the game at 22-22 with 4:11 left before halftime, but Evansville would also get back on the scoreboard after nearly four-minutes of no points on a layup with under three to play in the quarter to take the lead back at 24-22. The Aces would hold on and take a 27-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.
•    Illinois State would come out strong to start the third quarter, tying the game at 30-30 on a layup by Washington with 7:20 left on the clock. Evansville would go back up by three, but once again it was Washington to tie things up with a triple from the left elbow to make the score 35-35 at the media timeout.
•    Evansville would answer back, but a three-pointer by Finnegan would give the Redbirds the lead at 40-38 with just over two minutes left in the quarter. A layup by Washington as time expired would then give the Redbirds a one-point lead at the end of the third quarter, 42-41.
•    Four-straight points by Martin would push the ISU led to four at 47-43 two minutes into the fourth quarter and the Redbirds would lead by as many as five at 50-45 with 6:26 left in the game. Evansville would tie the game at 50-50 after a pair of free throws, however a three-point play by Mustaros would give Evansville the lead back at 53-52.
•    The Aces' lead would grow to six at 58-52 with 2:18 left, but a free throw by Fayta and a three-pointer by Jaeden Pratt would cut the deficit to two points at 58-56. After a defensive stop, the Redbirds had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line with 12 seconds left, however the second shot by Fayta was no good and Evansville called timeout up one at 58-57 with 11.2 on the clock.
•    Evansville was fouled on the inbounds and made both free throws to go up by three at 60-57, but the Redbirds would come back to tie the game on a three-pointer by Finnegan with 7.8 to play at 60-60. Evansville had one final shot to win the game in regulation, but it was no good and the game headed to overtime.
•    In the extra period, Evansville scored the first three points, but Washington answered with four-straight points to give Illinois State a one-point lead at 64-63 with 3:28 remaining. However, the Aces answered with a 7-0 run to take control and push the lead to six at 70-64 with 39 seconds left on the clock. 
•    The Redbirds battled back and cut it to one at 70-69 on a layup by Washington with 16 seconds left, but Evansville would drain a pair of free throws to go up by three and ISU's last shot attempt was short as the Aces held on for the overtime win over the Redbirds.
  
HIGHLIGHTS 
•    Illinois State sits at 20-13 on the season, the fourth-straight season with 20 wins or more for ISU and now awaits its postseason fate when tournaments announcements are made in the coming days.
•    Washington led the way for ISU with 24 points and added seven rebounds and two blocked shots in the contest against the Aces.
•    For the second game in a row, Martin just missed out on a double-double as she scored 16 points and grabbed nine boards.
•    Fayta rounded out a trio of Redbirds in double figures with 10 points, while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out three assists.

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