Redbirds and Braves Close Out Regular Season In Peoria

SETTING THE SCENE
It all comes down to another game in the I-74 rivalry on Sunday, as Illinois State (18-12, 12-7 MVC) heads to Peoria to take on Bradley (20-10, 13-6 MVC) in the regular-season finale at the Renaissance Coliseum. The winner of the game will be the No. 3 seed at the 2026 Credit Union 1 MVC Women's Basketball Tournament at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and Bradley will meet for the 90th time in program history on Sunday in the regular season finale. ISU leads the all-time series, 59-30, and have won 10 of the last 11 games in the series overall. The Redbirds won the most recent matchup on Feb. 1 by a final of 58-54 in overtime at CEFCU Arena. ISU is 24-18 all-time against Bradley in Peoria and have won four of the last five contests against the Braves at Renaissance Coliseum.

THE FASTBREAK
• Illinois State enters Sunday's contest at Bradley as winners of eight of its last 11 games and has won 10 of its last 14 games overall.  
• The Redbirds went 14-1 at home during the regular season for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
• With her performance last time out against Drake, Doneelah 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.
• Trista Fayta recorded her second double-double of the season at Valpo, as she scored 11 points and tied a career-high with 12 assists. She was one of five Redbirds in double figures in the contest.
• Washington was named MVC Player of the Week, after she averaged 22.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per contest, against Belmont and Murray State.
• 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.
• Redshirt freshman Grace Nelson set a career-high with 23 points and tied a career-best with five three-pointers in a big road win for the Redbirds at Evansville.
• At Illinois State's annual Play4Kay game (Feb. 1), the Redbirds raised over $36,000 for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Last year, Illinois State has won the Division I BCS and Non-BCS national awards and have now been named a Play4Kay divisional winner for the 10 consecutive years. 
• Trista 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.
• ISU shot .636 from the field against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, the sixth-highest field goal percentage in program history.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• Bradley (20-10, 13-6 MVC) sits alone in third place in the MVC standings, following its 82-61 win over Evansville at home on Thursday night.
• The Braves have gone 7-3 in their last 10 games. Bradley has been dominant at home this season, posting a 13-1 record after starting the season with 10 straight home wins. 
• Bradley has one of the best defenses in the MVC, ranking first in points allowed per game (63.8), third in opponent field goal percentage (.396), and holding opponents to the lowest three-point percentage (.266). 
• Offensively, they have remained one of the top teams in the conference, recording the highest three-point percentage (.348), ranking sixth in field goal percentage (.414), and sixth in points scored per game (70.1).
• Tamia Perryman had a huge game against Evansville, shooting 5-for-7 from beyond the arc to tie for the team lead with 16 points while adding six rebounds and four steals. Maya Foz also had a strong game, tying for the team lead with 16 points while adding six assists, four rebounds, and two steals.

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.
• With 52 blocks on the year, Doneelah Washington sits at No. 10 on the single season list, after just passing Kate Bullman who had 50 in 2022-23. She also upped her career total to 86, which puts her in eighth place all time.
• Washington has also scored 501 points on the season, making her just the 17th player in program history to score 500 points or more in a year.
• Trista Fayta has dished out 179 assists this year, which puts her at No. 7 on the single-season list just ahead of Amanda Clifton (175). 

FAYTA FINDS THEM ALL
• Trista Fayta leads the MVC in assists and assists per game and she has padded those numbers recently. 
• 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 is the only Redbird since 2009-10 to have multiple games of 10+ assists in a single season.
• She currently leads the MVC and is 14th in the NCAA with 6.0 assists per game. Her 179 total assists put her at No. 14 in the country as well.

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.

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 five times this season with Washington doing it four 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.

VALLEY WIN STREAKS
• The Redbirds are riding a 10-game win streak over Valparaiso, the third-longest active win streak over a current Missouri Valley Conference member. 
• Illinois State has not suffered a loss to Valpo since the 2020-21 campaign.

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. 
• 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 nine 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.
• Washington is one of eight DI players and the only Valley player with 15+ points, 10+ rebounds, 5+ steals and 4+ assists in a single game this season, joining UConn's Sarah Strong, Saint Joseph's Aleah Snead and Madison Booker of Texas.
• Washington is currently the only MVC player ranked in the top-three in the league in rebounds, offensive rebounds, blocks and steals.
• Washington's career-high five blocked shots against Nebraska are the most in a single-game for a Redbird since Kate Bullman had six versus Evansville on Feb. 25, 2024. With two blocks against Bradley, she moved into the Top 10 in career blocks with 69 and now has 77 in her career.
• Washington's career-high seven steals against Eastern Illinois are the most for a Redbird since Terrion Moore had seven at Loyola Chicago on March 5, 2021.

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).
• Martin led the MVC shooting 58.7% from the field in Valley play last season. She shot north of 50% in 16 MVC games, more than any player 

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.

DOUBLE DOUBLE TROUBLE
• Addison Martin (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Doneelah Washington (16 points, 10 rebounds) each posted double-doubles against the Sycamores. They are the first Redbird pair to do so since DeAnna Wilson and Kate Bullman did it against Chicago State in 2023.

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 third consecutive season under head coach Kristen Gillespie in 2024-25, marking the first time since 2008-09 to 2010-11 that the program has earned three 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. 
• The Redbirds (18-12) are just wins away from making it four season in a row with 20 or more victories.