Knudsen, Dowell lead Redbirds past Evansville

Image Courtesy of Redbird Athletics

NORMAL, Ill. – The Redbirds finished shooting 50% or better from the field for the ninth time this season as they went 29-for-58 as a team, en route to winning their 16th consecutive game over the Purple Aces, the longest active win streak over a current Valley foe.

Illinois State out-rebounded Evansville 45-31 and improved to 13-2 on the season when out-rebounding their opponents. This marked the tenth game this season of collecting 40 or more rebounds for the team.

Addison Martin’s bucket in the early stages of the second quarter helped the Redbirds grab a 25-16 lead after a tight opening period. Illinois State went into halftime with a 33-25 lead.

A 15-5 run after halftime saw the Redbirds increase their lead to 50-34, and Elyce Knudsen’s basket with 42 seconds to go in the third period pushed the lead to 20 points for the first time in the game, as the team led 57-36 after three-quarters of play, to close out their 10th MVC play victory of the season.

Elyce Knudsen and Shannon Dowell led the charge for the Redbirds, as they combined for 36 points, with 24 of those points coming in the first half.

Knudsen shot 8-for-16 from the field while knocking down 3 triples and grabbing six rebounds. Dowell contributed seven rebounds for the second straight game with three assists, scoring 17 points and shooting 6-for-11 from the field.

Maya Wong came close to finishing the game with a triple-double for Kristen Gillespie’s team. She scored 12 points and set career highs in assists and rebounds with 9 and 8.

Nevaeh Thomas tallied her ninth double-double of the year as she finished Saturday’s game with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The game was her sixth double-double in conference play this season.

It also marked her ninth double-double in all competitions this year, the most by a Redbird in the Kristen Gillespie era, and she is one double-double shy of becoming the sixth player in program history to put up 10 double-doubles in a single season.

With the win, the Redbirds improve to 16-9 on the season as they prepare to take on Belmont at CEFCU Arena on Thursday, February 20, at 6:30 pm.