Illinois State Women’s Basketball Remains Undefeated with a Win at Saint Louis

Image courtesy of  Illinois State athletics

ST. LOUIS, Mo — Illinois State women’s basketball continues their dominate start to the season, winning its fifth straight game in a victory against the Saint Louis Billikens on Saturday afternoon at Chaifetz Arena.

The Redbirds improved to 5-0 after taking control in the first and fourth quarter. They outscored Saint Louis 23-12 in the first and 25-17 in the fourth. The final score of the game tallied up to 72-55.

Following a three-pointer by the Billikens, the Redbirds went on an 11-0 run over the first five minutes of play. Naveah Thomas led the Redbirds scoring the first seven points of the game and a three-pointer from Danyella Mporokoso gave the Birds a 16-8 lead before the first media timeout.

Thomas had five-straight points three minutes into the second quarter, giving the Redbirds a 28-14  lead with 6:51 left in the quarter. The Billikens answered with a 6-0 run to cut the ISU lead back to single digits at 28-20. Grace Nelson knocked down a three-pointer from the corner with 32 seconds left before the break to give ISU an 11-point lead at halftime, 33-22.

Starting the third quarter the Billikens were on a 6-1 run until Chole Spreen hit a three-pointer to get their lead back to nine with the score at 37-28. She followed that with a fastbreak layup that increased the Redbird lead to ten at 39-29 with 3:29 left in the third. The Billikens soon went on a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to five points at 39-34.

Two free throws each from Madison Austin and Mporokoso extended the Redbird lead to 11 points at 51-40 three minutes into the fourth quarter. Hannah Chicken held a personal 8-0 run over 75 seconds, giving the Redbird’s their biggest lead of the game at 59-42 with 5:39 left in the game.

The Redbirds held onto a 16-2 run until the final minutes of the game, as the Billikens went on a 11-0 run, cutting the lead back to 15 points.

This will mark the fifth-straight game with at least four players scoring in double figures for the Redbirds. The all-around team effort has pushed them to their fifth-straight win to remain undefeated on the season.

The Redbirds will hold their annual Education Day game on Tuesday, Nov. 17, when they host Loyola Chicago at 11 a.m. at SEFCU Arena in Normal.

For more updates on all ISU athletics, visit wznd.com.