Knudsen’s Return Powers Redbirds Past Le Moyne

Image Courtesy of Redbird Athletics 

NORMAL, Ill. – Following a loss to Saint Louis this past Tuesday on the road, the Redbirds bounced back and won their first home game of the season.

The Redbirds were dominant at home last year, winning 14 out of 16 home games, marking the second most home wins in program history, something the team is eager to build on this year.

After sitting out the past two weeks due to a hamstring injury, the Redbirds utilized the play of Elyce Knudsen often and early in the first half, as the team’s leading scorer, Shannon Dowell, was held pointless entering the break.

Both teams traded blows in the first half, and they entered the locker rooms tied at 30 points at halftime. Head coach Kristen Gillespie’s team came out more aggressive in the third quarter and started to slowly pull away from the visiting Dolphins.

In the third quarter, the Redbirds were able to slow down the Dolphins offensively, who shot over 50% from three-point range in the first half. They capitalized on live ball turnovers to get easy transition baskets to extend the lead to 7 points before heading into the fourth quarter behind an 8 to 0 scoring run.

Dowell also found her stride in this period, with two three-pointers and a layup plus the foul. She finished the contest with 11 points while shooting 4-8 from the field and 2-3 from three-point range.

Maya Wong struggled to score a little bit, finishing with only 2 points, but made sure her teammates felt her impact on the court in other ways. Her 8 assists led the team and helped get everyone involved offensively for the Redbirds, who had 4 players score more than 10 points.

Matching up against forward Haedyn Roberts from Le Moyne, who had been averaging a double-double so far this season, were Addison Martin and Nevaeh Thomas for most of the game. Both did a tremendous job on defense, holding Roberts to a 4 for 14-shooting night.

Offensively, Martin and Thomas made their presence known under the rim. Martin finished with 14 points and 5 rebounds, and Thomas secured a game-high 7 rebounds and contributed 10 points.

Elyce Knudsen’s 15 points, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds were a welcome sight in her return and were the deciding factor in the Redbirds’ victory over Le Moyne by a final score of 71-55.

The Redbirds now sit at 2-1 early on in this 2024-2025 season and are set to play Harvard at home next Sunday as they look to improve to 3-1 on the year.