Illinois State women’s basketball unable to complete comeback against Illinois
Written by Lucy Tomlinson on November 11, 2025
Image courtesy of Illinois State women’s basketball
NORMAL, Ill. — Illinois State women’s basketball was unable to complete the comeback against Illinois on Sunday afternoon, suffering a 75-65 loss at the State Farm Center.
The Redbirds were coming off a strong 87-76 team win against Dayton in their season opener. Four players scored in the double digits and the team chemistry seemed to be clicking for the Redbirds. The Fighting Illini were also coming off a dominant 91-67 victory against Southeast Missouri State University where Lexi McCully led the team with 16 points.
Illinois got off to a hot start in the in-state battle, going on a 9-0 scoring run early in the first quarter. Jasmine Hagger-Brown had one steal, an assist, and five points in a span of just over three minutes to give the Illini an 11-2 lead with 5:51 left in the first quarter.
Four points by Trista Fayta helped ISU close the scoring gap to 20-16 at the end of the first. Kya Hurt saw her first minutes as a Redbird with a layup and assist.
The second quarter saw another dominant performance by Illinois. They increased their lead to 31-18 after Berry Wallace earned eight of the team’s first 10 points in the second part of their campaign. Nevaeh Thomas got to work for the Redbirds but the shooting power of the Illini was too much for the team to handle. Gretchen Dolan secured three more points for Illinois, a steal, and two assists.
ISU battled back in the paint to only trail by five going into the second half.
Dolan continued to be an obstacle for the Redbirds in the third quarter. The junior scored 10 points in the third and added on an additional steal and assist. Three-pointers by Trista Fayta and Bella Finnegan helped the Redbirds close the scoring differential to 10 going into the last 15 minutes of playing time.
Doneelah Washington got things started for the Redbirds with a fastbreak in the paint less than a minute into the fourth quarter. Despite the quick start, a foul by Fayta put Destiny Jackson at the line and the guard added two more points to the Illini sheet, making the score 57-47. When all momentum seemed to be in favor of the home team, the Redbirds answered back with a 9-0 scoring run of their own to cut the deficit to 58-56.
The duo of Wallace and Dolan overpowered the Redbird defense for the final four and a half minutes. They put up a combined 13 points in the final quarter but Thomas tried to ignite a fire in the Redbirds with eight points of her own to bring her to a total of 20 points on the night.
ISU put up a fight against the Big Ten opponent but were unable to seal the deal with the late scoring run. Illinois kept the pressure on and finished the game with a 10 point lead, ending it 75-65.
Thomas led the Redbirds with 20 points, four assists, and shot 9-11 on field goals. Addison Martin fell just behind with 12 points, shooting 5-13 from the field. Wallace led the entire competition with 22 points and seven rebounds, with a field goal percentage of 70.
The Redbirds are now 1-1 on the season and look to add another win to their resume at 11 a.m. against Chicago State on Wednesday at CEFCU Arena.
For all things Redbird women’s basketball, stay tuned at wznd.com.
