Redbirds Set To Host UTRGV In WNIT Second Round

SETTING THE SCENE
For the sixth-straight season, Illinois State (20-13) will make an appearance in the postseason and for the fourth-consecutive year it will be in the WNIT as the Redbirds play host to UTRGV (21-13) in a second-round matchup on Sunday at CEFCU Arena. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. CT and the game can be seen live on ESPN+.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and UTRGV will meet for the first time ever in Sunday's second-round WNIT contest at CEFCU Arena. This marks the second-straight season in which the Redbirds have faced off against a team from the state of Texas in the WNIT, following their 78-68 win over Abilene Christian at the Shirk Center in Bloomington in the third round. The winner of Sunday's game will advance to the WNIT Super 16 to face the winner of a game between Abilene Christian and FIU. 

THE FASTBREAK
• For the sixth-straight season, Illinois State will play in the postseason as the Redbirds were selected to compete in the 28th annual Postseason WNIT, powered by Triple Crown Sports, and received a first-round bye.
• With their last-second win in the regular-season finale at Bradley, Illinois State earned the No. 3 seed in the 2026 Credit Union 1 MVC Women's Basketball Tournament. After a first-round bye the Redbirds picked up a win over Drake in the quarterfinals before dropping an overtime heartbreaker to Evansville in the semifinals.
• Sophomore Doneelah Washington was selected to the All-MVC First Team and was named the MVC Most Improved Player of the Year, along with earning a spot on the MVC All-Defensive Team.
• Freshman Kya Hurt was honored as a member of the MVC All-Freshman team, following a stellar inaugural season in a Redbird uniform.
• Sophomore guard Trista Fayta, along with Washington, earned MVC All-Academic honors. She finished the season as the MVC leader in assists (184) and assists per game (5.9)
• With her performance at Drake, Washington set a career-high with six blocks and also moved over the 500 points scored mark for the year, becoming just the 17th player in program history to achieve that feat.
• The Redbirds went 14-1 at home during the regular season for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
• Washington was named MVC Player of the Week, after she averaged 22.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per contest, against Belmont (Feb. 20) and Murray State (Feb. 22).
• For the first time since 2012 (Jamie Russell), a Redbird posted a 30-point, 10-plus rebound effort as Washington scored a career-high 31 points and grabbed 12 boards to help lift the Birds to the win over the Bruins.
• Washington (31) and Addison Martin (24) each ecliped the 20-point mark against Belmont, marking the fifth time this season ISU has had a pair of players score 20 or more in the same game. 
• Fayta recorded the first triple-double for the Redbirds since 1991, when she scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 10 assists against Valparaiso.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• UTRGV (21-13, 16-6 SLC) secured the winningest season in program history with the Southland Conference Tournament quarterfinal win over Northwestern State. Other records to fall this season included, but are not limited to, the most conference wins (16), road wins (11), consecutive road wins (8), consecutive conference wins (7) and wins before the conference tournament (19) in a season. UTRGV also tied the program's longest winning streak (7).
• The Vaqueros are back in the postseason for the first time since 2018-19. It marks the fifth postseason appearance in program history and second in the WNIT. 
• UTRGV went 4-1 in their last five games before starting the WNIT. They won three in a row, earning victories in the final two games of the regular season and in the Southland Conference tournament quarterfinals. As the No. 4 seed, UTRGV fell to #1 McNeese in the semifinals of the conference tournament.
• The Vaqueros are coming off a wire-to-wire first round win at Austin Peay in the first round of the WNIT on Thursday night. 
• Junior guard Jalayah Ingram led UTRGV with another stellar performance, scoring 20 points with nine rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks in a full 40 minutes of action. Freshman forward Chazlyn Dettor contributed 16 points, a career-high five assists, four rebounds and one block on 6-of-8 shooting.
• UTRGV was the only Southland team to have two All-Conference First Team honorees in 2025-26. Ingram earned the SLC Newcomer of the Year title and made the All-Conference First Team. Senior forward Charlotte O'Keefe made the All-Conference First Team and also tabbed her second-consecutive All-Defensive Team nod.

REDBIRDS IN THE WNIT
• The Redbirds are set to make their 17th appearance all-time in the WNIT and their fifth trip to the WNIT in Gillespie's tenure. 
• ISU earned a WNIT bid for the fourth consecutive season. The Birds are 19-11 overall in the WNIT since 2000, which includes a 3-1 record and a berth in the WNIT Fab 4 last postseason.

CLIMBING IN THE RECORD BOOK
• A pair of Redbirds are climbing in key categories in the Illinois State record book this season with their performance.
• Trista Fayta has dished out 192 assists this year, which puts her at No. 5 on the single-season list and just 11 away from tying Kristi Cirone's single-season record of 203 set during the 2008-09 season.
• With 288 rebounds on the season Doneelah Washington sits at No. 5 on the single-season list and with 12 more, could become just the fourth player in school history to record 300 or more rebounds in a single season (Cathy Boswell did it twice).
• With 56 blocks on the year, Washington sits at No. 9 on the single season list, just one away from tying Nicolle Lewis and Leslie Ferrell in a tie for seventh. She also upped her career total to 90, which puts her in a tie for seventh place all time.
• Washington has also scored 556 points on the season, making her just the 17th player in program history to score 500 points or more in a year. 

PROTECTING HOME COURT
• Illinois State is 14-1 at home this season, which is one of the better single-season performances at home in program history. 
• The Redbirds 14 home victories are tied for the most home wins by Illinois State in the Kristen Gillespie era. The team has won 14 home games in each of the past two seasons.
• This season marks the 9th time in program history that Illinois State has won 13 or more home games in a single season. 
• This year's squad is just the third team in program history to win 13-plus home games in the regular season, joining the 2010-11 team that holds the school record with 17 home wins and the 2023-24 squad.
• The Redbirds have protected home court well over the last four years, posting a 53-10 record since the start of the 2022-23 season. Overall, the Redbirds are 101-30 at home under the leadership of head coach Kristen Gillespie.

FAYTA FINDS THEM ALL
• Trista Fayta led the MVC in assists and assists per game this season, becoming the only Redbird since 2009-10 to have multiple games of 10+ assists in a single season.
• She dished out 12 dimes in a road win at Valparaiso, which tied her career-high of 12 against Evansville.
• Fayta now has five double-digit assist efforts this season, which ranks 9th in Division I and leads all MVC players.
• She currently leads the MVC and is 17th in the NCAA with 5.8 assists per game. Her 192 total assists put her at No. 13 in the country.

PROBLEMS IN THE POST
• Doneelah Washington and Addison Martin are one of the best post combinations in the MVC, and they showed that with their peformances in an overtime win over Belmont.
• Washington scored a career high 31-points, thanks to a 9-for-9 effort from the free throw line, and grabbed 12 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season.
• Not to be outdone, Martin scored a season-best 24 points (1 point shy of her career high) and was 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. 
It was Martin's fourth 20-plus point effort of the season.
• ISU has now had two players score 20 points or more in the same game six times this season with Washington doing it five times.

NELSON GOES NUTS
• Redshirt freshman Grace Nelson came off the bench at Evansville and sparked a Redbird second-half comeback with a career-best tying five three-pointers.
• She would go on to finish the game with a career-high 23 points to lead the way for the Redbirds and was 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. She also dished out a career-high four assists in the win for the Redbirds.

GILLESPIE CLIMBS THE RANKS
• With her 77-70 win over Drake on Feb. 7, ISU head coach Kristen Gillespie picked up win No. 171 at Illinois State, which moved her into the Top 10 all-time among league coaches.
• She joins former ISU head coach Jill Hutchison (277) on the list and ISU is the only school with two coaches in the Top 10 all-time in wins.
• With ISU's 75-61 win over UIC on Jan. 8, Gillespie notched her 100th career Missouri Valley Conference victory.
• Ahead of ISU's matchup with Evansville, Gillespie received a commemorative ball in recognition of becoming the 10th coach in MVC history to reach triple-digit wins.

ANOTHER TRIPLE DOUBLE SOON?
• Trista Fayta nearly recorded her second triple-double of the season against Drake, as she scored a career-high 23 points, dished out nine assists and grabbed seven rebounds.
• It marked the first time this season that a Redbird has led the team in points, rebounds and assists in the same game (she has now done it twice on the season)
• Earlier in the season, Fayta became the first Redbird since the 1990-91 season to record a triple double with a 14-point, 10-rebound and 10-assist outing against Valparaiso. It was just the seventh in the last five seasons.

IT JUST MEANS MORE
• The Feb. 1 game against Bradley was ISU's 16th-annual Play4Kay game, where ISU raised over $36,000 for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund during the game, and have now fundraised over $380,000 for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and the fight against all women's cancers in their previous 16 years hosting a Play4Kay game.  
• The Illinois State women's basketball program was recognized as a Play4Kay National Award Winner for the fourth year in a row in 2025. 
For only the fourth time in Play4Kay's history, and for the fourth year in a row, Illinois State won the Division I BCS and Non-BCS national awards. 
• Illinois State head coach Kristen Gillespie played for and coached alongside the legendary Kay Yow at NC State.

CONVERTING FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
• The Redbirds were busy at the free throw line in their win at Indiana State. ISU was 37-of-43 from the charity stripe in the victory, with six players attempting at least five shots each.
• The 37 free throws made by the Redbirds set a new school record, topping the previous mark of 32 made against Missouri in 1996. 
• ISU attempted 43 free throws, which was one shy of the school record of 44 set against UNI in 2004 and overall shot 86 percent from the stripe on the day.

WASHINGTON WOWS
• Doneelah Washington has been on a tear in 2026, leading the Redbirds in scoring with 11 games of 20 points or more, including a career-high 31 points in a win against Belmont.
• With a 31-point, 12-rebound performance in the overtime win over Belmont, Washington notched her ninth double-double of the season.
• With 26 points and 10 boards against Evansville, she recorded her second 20-point, 10-rebound game as a Redbird. 
• She is the fifth Redbird in the Gillespie era to record multiple 20-point, 10-rebound games in their career, joining Nevaeh Thomas, DeAnna Wilson, JuJu Redmond and Simone Goods.

MVC HONORS
• Doneelah Washington continues to dominate on the floor for the Redbirds and for her efforts, she was named the MVC Player of the Week for the third time this season on Jan. 26.
• She continues to do it all for the Redbirds and put together another strong week where she nearly averaged a double-double on the road against UIC and Indiana State. 
• Washington averaged 22.5 points per contest and 8.5 rebounds per game while playing nearly 30 minutes per contest against the Flames and the Sycamores, with 28 points against the Trees.

DONEELAH DOES IT ALL
• Doneelah Washington put together a strong all-around effort with 26 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and two blocks against Evansville.
• She is one of only five MVC players since 2009-10 with 25+ points, 10+ rebounds, 4+ steals and 2+ blocks in a game against an MVC opponent. Washington is also the only ISU player since 2009-10 with that same stat line.

BALANCED EFFORT
• The Redbirds finished with 4+ double-figure scorers in 25 games last season and have done so in 11 games so far in the 2025-26 season.
• Illinois State is 41-11 when putting 4+ in double figures since the start of the 2023-24 campaign.
• Over the last three seasons, Illinois State has finished with 4+ double-figure scorers in 52 games, and 5+ double-figure scorers in 16 including the road game at Valparaiso.

MONEY MARTIN
• Redshirt senior Addison Martin scored in double figures in 14 straight games to start the season and has done so in 24 of the Birds' 30 contests during the 2025-26 campaign.
• Martin has recorded three double-doubles this season, with her most recent coming against Murray State (13 points, 10 rebounds).

DISHING DIMES
• In her first career start, Trista Fayta tallied the first double-double of her career with 19 points and 10 assists against Dayton.
• Her complete performance turned out to be a unique one, as Fayta become just the second MVC player in the last 14 seasons to put up 19 points, 10 assists and 4 or more steals in a game.
• Fayta and Addison Martin have both tallied double-digit assists efforts this season, with Fayta now having five.

HITTING THE CENTURY MARK
• The Redbirds scored a season-high 105 points against Indiana State on Dec. 29, marking the fifth time under head coach Kristen Gillespie that Illinois State has eclipsed the century mark.
• The Redbirds' 105 points are tied for the fifth-most in a single game in program history.
• It marked the first 100-point output for the Redbirds since scoring 110 against St. Francis last December.

20+ WIN SEASON
• 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.