Redbirds Rally Past Abilene Christian, Advance to WNIT Great 8

Image courtesy of Illinois State Athletics

NORMAL, Ill. — Trailing by 13 points after the first quarter and down ten with just five minutes remaining, the Illinois State women’s basketball team stormed back Friday night to defeat Abilene Christian 59–55 in the WNIT Super 16 from CEFCU Arena. 

The Redbirds struggled to get going early, falling behind by 13 points in the first quarter, which forced head coach Kristen Gillespie to call an early timeout. Gillespie’s message to her team was simple.

“Wake up, we’re good,” Gillespie said. They came out and punched us. We had great looks, they just weren’t going in but we just had to lock down and weather the storm.” 

Following the timeout, Illinois State responded with a 7–0 run, beginning to settle in and find their rhythm on both ends of the floor.

Leading the way for the Redbirds was sophomore forward  Doneelah Washington, who finished with a game-high 23 points, shooting an efficient 8-of-10 from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line. She scored 21 of her 23 points in the second half, marking her fourth straight 20-point performance. Washington spoke about her mindset after a slow first half and how she turned it into a strong second-half performance. 

“Getting out of my head I feel like they really poked the bear in the first half,” Washington said. It was really just me getting out of my head and playing for everybody else on my team.”

Sophomore guard Trista Fayta delivered a strong performance, finish with 13 points and seven assists. Fayta’s seven assists brought her season total to 204, breaking the Illinois State single-season record of 203 previously set by Kristi Cirone during the 2008–09 season.

ISU had just two players score in double figures, however, freshman guard Kya Hurt made an impact off the bench, finishing with nine points and four rebounds.

With the win on Friday night, the Redbirds improved to 22–13 on the season and 16–1 at home. ISU will now face George Washington University in the WNIT Great 8 on Monday, March 30, with tipoff set for 6:30 p.m. CT from CEFCU Arena.

For all things Redbird basketball, stay tuned to wznd.com.