Illinois State Tournament Run Ends at the Hands of the 9-24 Evansville Purple Aces

Image courtesy of Illinois State Athletics.

Coralville, Iowa — After a hard fought and grueling game that saw two dozen turnovers, overtime, and a player attempting to make her first three of the season, Illinois State Women’s Basketball’s Missouri Valley Conference tournament run ended, falling 75-70 to the No. 10 seeded Evansville Purple Aces.

Evansville is the story of the MVC tournament, a team that hadn’t won three games in a row in almost three years and hadn’t beat three Division One teams in a row since 2021, now sits one game away from one of the most remarkable tournaments runs of all time, potentially shocking the Missouri Valley to its core.

Illinois State Head Coach Kristen Guillespe gave Evansville credit for a hard-fought contest after the game, “Gotta give Robyn [Evansville Head Coach] all the credit, a heck of a run they’re on”.

Coach also cited the team’s lack of energy on the court, questioning if something in their prep leading up to the game led the team to fall short on the court.

“We just didn’t come out with the same juice as last night,” Gillespie said. “That’s something that is gonna haunt me for a while.”

Many facets of ISU’s game lacked tonight, normally a threat from the free throw line ISU made just 18 of 31 free throw attempts on the night, compared to Evansville who made 19 of 23.

The Redbirds also struggled with turnovers on the night, racking up over a dozen themselves and struggling to capitalize on the opportunities given to them by the Purple Aces.

Doneelah Washington had another strong night, following last night’s Double-Double she posted 24 points and only accumulated two fouls in the contest.

Outside of Washington however, ISU struggled to find another hot hand, with both Trista Fayta and Addison Martin struggling to find consistency on the night, culminating in a last gasp three-point attempt from Martin, who had not made one all season.

Coach Guillespe noted she challenged Addison to practice some more three’s this summer, “And I was thinking, man if this goes in.” Sadly for the birds that wound up being their last shot at scoring as Evansville recovered the rebound and shot two dagger free throws to end ISU’s tournament.

Evansville’s Camryn Runner set an Evansville tournament record with 24 points, and was lethal from the free throw line, making 12 of the teams 19 shots.

“People counted us out… we have nothing to lose, and we believe in each other to go out there and compete.” Runner said.

Despite the heartbreak and disappointment, Coach Gillespie chose to highlight the culture this team has built throughout the season.

“That’s what makes it hard, there are kid in that locker room that aren’t going to get to do this again… but my two children look up to them… last Tuesday we attended a funeral of one of our fans who died suddenly. And his father called me the other day to tell me how much this team meant to them. They go above and beyond, and that I what I am the most proud of about this team, we got a lot of winners in that locker room.”

This team rode the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows this season, culminating in a 13-1 home record, and an unexpected three seed in the MVC tournament all while dealing with injury, and all the turmoil they made it further than most expected.

And now their focus turns to the postseason, and a possible WNIT appearance. After last years Final Four Appearance in the tournament, and this game behind them the Illinois State Redbirds will be a team to pay attention to come selection Sunday.

To follow along with the Redbirds Postseason run, and all the offseason news, visit wznd.com and keep listening to WZND, The Pulse of Redbird Nation.