Illinois State women’s basketball defends perfect home record against Valparaiso
Written by Lucy Tomlinson on January 14, 2026
Image courtesy of Illinois State women’s basketball
NORMAL, Ill. — Illinois State women’s basketball is back in action on Thursday at CEFCU Arena for another Missouri Valley Conference matchup against Valparaiso. ISU is 8-0 in front of their home crowd this season and the Beacons have yet to win a game in the 2025-26 campaign, coming into Normal 0-17 on the year.
ISU is 16-4 against the Beacons since 1980 and have not lost to them since the 2020-21 season.
Valparaiso is recently coming off another loss from Southern Illinois, 59-97. The Beacons shot 36.2% from the field and 10.5% from beyond the arc. They had 22 turnovers in the 60-minute campaign and scored just two points off turnovers, compared to SIU’s 26 points off turnovers. Allia von Schlegell led the Beacons with 15 points, her ninth game of the season in double-digits.
The scoring leader for Valparaiso this season is Fiona Connolly. The senior averages 12.3 PPG and shoots 42.4% from the field. Connolly moves the ball around for the Beacons and creates chances for her teammates, tallying 23 assists on the year. The guard also works to make second chances with 63 rebounds, 50 of them coming from the defensive side of the ball. She averages a steal a game and has 16 on the season.
The Beacons average 53 points per game, the lowest in the MVC. On the other hand, the Redbirds are averaging 73.5 PPG, the second highest in the conference.
The Redbirds are coming off back-to-back home wins after struggling on the road to Belmont and Murray State. ISU defeated Evansville 82-71 in their previous match and had four players score in the double-digits. Doneelah Washington had a career-high 26 points in the win and was named MVC Player of the Week after the victory, her second time earning the accolade this season.
ISU leads the MVC in FG percentage with 43.8%. Despite the scoring success, the Redbirds have struggled with turnovers this season. They average 15 a game, but tied a season low with nine against the Aces.
With the absence of Navaeh Thomas, Washington has stepped up immensely for the Redbirds this season. She is averaging 15.2 PPG, 9.2 rebounds per game, and 1.6 steals per game on the season. She is ninth in the MVC in points, fourth in FG percentage, third in rebounds, and second in blocks and steals.
Despite the power of Washington, the rest of the roster have worked together well this season. Three Redbirds rank in the top 15 in in the MVC in assists per game, Trista Fayta leads the conference (5.5), Addison Martin sits in 11th (3.0), and Kya Hurt is 13th (2.9). In order to come out with a win on Thursday evening, the Redbirds are going to need to pick up their defensive game.
Despite being 0-17 on the season, Valparaiso has seen glimpses of hope throughout multiple games. They will need to step it up on offense to outscore one of the top scoring teams in the conference and slow down Washington. If ISU is unable to fix its issues with turnovers, the Beacons will need to capitalize on them and put points on the board. The Redbirds are shooting 30% from the 3-point line and if they are able to stay hot from behind the arc, they should be able to get the job done against the Beacon defense.
Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. at CEFCU Arena and the Redbirds look to go 9-0 at home.
If you are unable to make the game at CEFCU Thursday you can catch all the action live on wznd.com with Jaden Cohn and Jason Zaehler.
And for all things Redbird women’s basketball, stay tuned at wznd.com.
