Women's Basketball Mike Williams

Redbirds Fall In WNIT Championship Game At Marshall, 66-41

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Playing it its first WNIT Championship game in program history, Illinois State headed to Huntington, West Virginia, to take on a Marshall team that was playing in front of a sold-out crowd of over 5,000 fans on Saturday at the Cam Henderson Center. The Redbirds (24-14) fought hard throughout, but the Thundering Herd were strong on their home court and came away with a 66-41 win to take home the WNIT title.

HOW IT HAPPENED 
•    Grace Nelson scored the first six points of the contest for the Redbirds, however Marshall's Timaya Lewis Eutsey scored their first 11 points to give them a five-point lead five minutes into the contest. After a layup by Addison Martin but the lead to three at 11-8, the Thundering Herd scored four-straight points to hold a 15-8 advantage at the first quarter media timeout.
•    That lead would grow to 21-10, as Marshall went on a 10-2 run to end the first quarter and take and11-point lead to the second. Marshall shot a blistering 75 percent from the field in the opening 10 minutes (9-of-12), while the Redbirds shot just 27 percent.
•    The Redbirds scored the first four points of the second quarter to cut the Marshall lead to 21-14 three minutes in, before the Thundering Herd scored the next four points to go back up by 11 at 25-14 with 6:05 remaining before halftime. A jumper by Martin with under two left on the clock would cut the Marshall lead to eight at 27-19, but the Thundering Herd got a basket as time expired to take a 10-point lead into the locker room at the break.
•    Marshall started the third quarter on a 12-0 run to take a 43-21 lead with 5:27 to play, forcing ISU head coach Kristen Gillespie to call a timeout. ISU would get back-to-back baskets from Bella Finnegan and Kya Hurt to trim the Marshall lead to 43-25 a minute later. 
•    The Redbirds would finish the third quarter on a 7-2 run, capped off by a three-pointer from Trista Fayta, to make the score 50-34 in favor of the Thundering Herd with 10 minutes left in the contest. Marshall had a quick answer, going on an 8-0 run over the first minute-plus of the fourth quarter to extend its lead to 58-34.
•    A 7-2 run by the Redbirds would cut into the Marshall lead at 62-41 with 1:33 left in the game, however Marshall would run out the clock and earn the 66-41 victory

HIGHLIGHTS 
•    The Redbirds finish the season with 24 wins for the second-straight year and tied a school record with 17 wins at home at CEFCU Arena.
•    ISU is now 6-2 in the WNIT over the past two seasons, with a Fab 4 appearance in 2025 and a title game appearance in 2026.
•    Illinois State senior Addison Martin and sophomore Doneelah Washington were named to the WNIT All-Tournament Team following the contest.
•    The Redbirds were led in scoring by Martin, who scored a team-high 11 points … fellow senior Finnegan finished with six points in the contest, as did Nelson while Fayta added nine points with two assists in the contest.

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