NORMAL, Ill. – Fresh off a WNIT championship game appearance and its fourth-consecutive 20-win campaign, the Illinois State Women's Basketball program has unveiled its 2026 non-conference schedule, a slate that includes five contests inside CEFCU Arena. The non-conference portion of the schedule also features four teams that played in the postseason a year ago, including a pair of teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
"We are excited about our non-conference schedule and the opportunities it gives us to compete against some very good programs, both at home and on the road," Illinois State head coach Kristen Gillespie said. "We know these games will challenge us and help us grow as a team. We want to be battle-tested when conference play begins, and we believe this schedule will do exactly that."
The Redbirds open the regular season at home on November 2 against Chicago State, before traveling to take on Dayton on November 5. The second home game of the season will take place on November 7, when the Redbirds host in-state opponent Augustana. That will be followed by a tough home contest at CEFCU Arena against Green Bay, which advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season and finished with a 25-9 overall record on the year.
A road contest against Saint Louis on November 14 will be next, before Illinois State hosts its annual Education Day game on November 17 when it takes on Loyola Chicago. The Ramblers advanced to the third round of the of the WNIT last season before falling to George Washington, who the Redbirds would defeat in the WNIT Great 8 to advance to the semifinals of the tournament.
ISU will then head to the East Coast for a pair of contests, first on November 22 against Stonehill before playing three days later against Harvard on November 25. The Crimson recorded 20 wins for the third time in four years and received a bid to the 2025 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament, where they advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament after defeating Navy and Eastern Kentucky.
The four-game road trip will continue November 30 in Evanston against Big Ten Conference foe Northwestern, and it will be followed by a contest against Eastern Illinois in Charleston on December 3. The final home game of the non-conference season will take place on December 6 against South Dakota State, which went 27-7 overall last season and made its 14th NCAA Tournament appearance since 2009. A road contest against Indiana from the Big Ten Conference will wrap things up on December 13, before the start of Missouri Valley Conference play.
The Redbirds return seven players from last season's squad that advanced to the WNIT Championship game, including MVC assists leader Trista Fayta and Nevaeh Thomas, who returns for her senior campaign. Illinois State tallied a 24-14 record and advanced to the WNIT Championship game, earning a postseason bid for the sixth consecutive season and a 20-win campaign for the fourth straight year.
The returners will be joined by seven newcomers, including transfers Chloe Spreen (Indiana), Hannah Chicken (Portland State) and Ella Mason (Michigan Tech). The group also includes four prep standouts Danyella Mporokoso, Kennedy Stowers, Madison Young and Austria native Christina Köppel. Mporokoso highlights the group, coming to ISU after being named the 2025-26 Gatorade Illinois Girls Basketball Player of the Year and a four-star recruit.
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