2023–24 Illinois State Redbirds women's basketball team

The 2023–24 Illinois State Redbirds women's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by seventh-year head coach Kristen Gillespie, played their home games at CEFCU Arena in Normal, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

2023–24 Illinois State Redbirds women's basketball
WNIT, Super 16
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record21–11 (13–7 MVC)
Head coach
  • Kristen Gillespie (7th season)
Associate head coachScott Gillespie
Assistant coaches
  • Drew Cole
  • Katrina Beck
  • Jordan Alford
  • Mannie Robinson
Home arenaCEFCU Arena
Seasons
← 2022–23
2024–25 →
2023–24 Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Drake 19 1   .950 29 6   .829
Belmont 17 3   .850 26 9   .743
Missouri State 15 5   .750 23 10   .697
Northern Iowa 14 6   .700 16 16   .500
Illinois State 13 7   .650 22 12   .647
Murray State 12 8   .600 20 12   .625
UIC 10 10   .500 18 16   .529
Southern Illinois 6 14   .300 11 20   .355
Indiana State 6 14   .300 11 21   .344
Valparaiso 4 16   .200 5 25   .167
Bradley 2 18   .100 6 26   .188
Evansville 2 18   .100 4 28   .125
2024 MVC tournament winner

Previous season

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The Redbirds finished the 2022–23 season 24–9, 17–3 in MVC play to finish in a tie for first place.[1] In the MVC tournament, they defeated Murray State in the quarterfinals,[2] before being upset by eventual tournament champions Drake in the semifinals.[3] They received an automatic bid into the WNIT,[4] where they would lose to Missouri in the first round.[5]

Roster

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2023–24 Illinois State Redbirds women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Shannon Dowell 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Fr O'Fallon Township High School O'Fallon, Illinois
G 1 Molly Lenz 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Fr Eden Prairie High School Eden Prairie, Minnesota
G 3 Abbie Aalsma 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So Waupun High School Waupun, Wisconsin
G 4 Lauren Cohen 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Jr Glenbard South High School Wheaton, Illinois
G 5 Daijah Smith 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Sr Wabash Valley College Gary, Indiana
G 11 Caroline Waite 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) Jr Bradley Ames, Iowa
G 12 Maya Wong 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) RS Sr Normal Community High School Normal, Illinois
G 13 Brooke Coffey 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr Incarnate Word Academy St. Charles, Missouri
G 15 Taylor Veach 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) So Central DeWitt High School DeWitt, Iowa
F 24 DeAnna Wilson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) GS Moberly Area Community College St. Louis, Missouri
F/C 25 Lexi Boles 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Jr Dowling Catholic High School Des Moines, Iowa
F 32 Kate Bullman 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Sr Grayslake Central High School Grayslake, Illinois
F 33 Hannah Kelle 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) GS Lincoln Southwest High School Lincoln, Nebraska
F 52 Savannah McGowan 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Armstrong High School Plymouth, Minnesota
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: March 4, 2024

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 29, 2023*
1:00 pm
Illinois Wesleyan W 94–56 
CEFCU Arena (–)
Normal, IL
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023*
5:00 pm, SLN
at Omaha W 105–59  1–0
Baxter Arena (512)
Omaha, NE
November 11, 2023*
12:00 pm, ESPN+
at Mount St. Mary's L 62–88  1–1
Baxter Arena (1,863)
Omaha, NE
November 15, 2023*
11:00 am, ESPN+
SIU Edwardsville W 90–86  2–1
CEFCU Arena (7,581)
Normal, IL
November 19, 2023*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
St. Francis (IL) W 89–51  3–1
CEFCU Arena (1,039)
Normal, IL
November 24, 2023*
6:00 pm
vs. UT Arlington
Saint Mary's Thanksgiving Classic
W 87–63  4–1
University Credit Union Pavilion (89)
Moraga, CA
November 25, 2023*
5:30 pm, ESPN+
at Saint Mary's
Saint Mary's Thanksgiving Classic
W 62–51  5–1
University Credit Union Pavilion (352)
Moraga, CA
November 30, 2023*
6:30 pm, ESPN+
Chicago State W 102–47  6–1
CEFCU Arena (916)
Normal, IL
December 3, 2023*
1:00 pm, ACCNX
at No. 5 NC State L 61–79  6–2
Reynolds Coliseum (5,500)
Raleigh, NC
December 10, 2023*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
No. 19 Marquette L 62–64  6–3
CEFCU Arena (2,129)
Normal, IL
December 19, 2023*
6:30 pm, ESPN+
Saint Louis W 87–81  7–3
CEFCU Arena (1,281)
Normal, IL
MVC regular season
December 30, 2023
4:00 pm, ESPN+
Bradley
I-74 Rivalry
W 78–74  8–3
(1–0)
CEFCU Arena (2,241)
Normal, IL
January 4, 2024
6:30 pm, ESPN+
at Belmont L 52–64  8–4
(1–1)
Curb Event Center (878)
Nashville, TN
January 6, 2024
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Murray State L 55–90  8–5
(1–2)
CFSB Center (1,631)
Murray, KY
January 10, 2024
6:30 pm, ESPN+
Southern Illinois W 76–43  9–5
(2–2)
CEFCU Arena (1,075)
Normal, IL
January 14, 2024
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Missouri State W 85–78  10–5
(3–2)
CEFCU Arena (1,056)
Normal, IL
January 19, 2024
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Valparaiso W 77–68  11–5
(4–2)
Athletics–Recreation Center (295)
Valparaiso, IN
January 21, 2024
1:00 pm, ESPN+
at UIC L 79–86 OT 11–6
(4–3)
Credit Union 1 Arena (1,731)
Chicago, IL
January 25, 2024
6:30 pm, ESPN+
Northern Iowa W 88–77  12–6
(5–3)
CEFCU Arena (1,614)
Normal, IL
January 27, 2024
4:00 pm, Marquee/ESPN+
Drake W 79–70  13–6
(6–3)
CEFCU Arena (2,487)
Normal, IL
February 4, 2024
12:00 pm, ESPN+
at Indiana State W 64–59  14–6
(7–3)
Hulman Center (1,209)
Terre Haute, IN
February 8, 2024
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Northern Iowa L 47–74  14–7
(7–4)
McLeod Center (3,834)
Cedar Falls, IA
February 10, 2024
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Drake L 64–79  14–8
(7–5)
Knapp Center (3,792)
Des Moines, IA
February 15, 2024
6:30 pm, ESPN+
UIC W 64–61  15–8
(8–5)
CEFCU Arena (1,379)
Normal, IL
February 17, 2024
5:00 pm, ESPN+
Valparaiso W 78–64  16–8
(9–5)
CEFCU Arena (2,941)
Normal, IL
February 22, 2024
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Bradley
I-74 Rivalry
W 68–50  17–8
(10–5)
Renaissance Coliseum (510)
Peoria, IL
February 25, 2024
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Evansville W 78–50  18–8
(11–5)
CEFCU Arena (2,412)
Normal, IL
February 29, 2024
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Southern Illinois W 75–66  19–8
(12–5)
Banterra Center (600)
Carbondale, IL
March 2, 2024
2:00 pm, MVCN/ESPN+
at Missouri State L 62–67  19–9
(12–6)
Great Southern Bank Arena (3,030)
Springfield, MO
March 7, 2024
6:30 pm, ESPN+
Murray State W 85–75  20–9
(13–6)
CEFCU Arena (1,472)
Normal, IL
March 9, 2024
4:00 pm, ESPN+
Belmont CEFCU Arena 
Normal, IL
MVC tournament
March 14–17, 2024
 ESPN+/ESPN2
vs.  Vibrant Arena at The MARK 
Moline, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.

Sources:[6][7]

References

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  1. ^ "2022-23 Women's Basketball Standings". Missouri Valley Conference. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  2. ^ "Redbirds Advance to MVC Semifinals Behind Robinson's 21". Illinois State University Athletics. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  3. ^ "Drake women's basketball rolls into MVC Tournament final with blowout win over Illinois State". Des Moines Register. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  4. ^ "Bracket, Round 1 matchups and times announced for 2023 Postseason WNIT". WNIT Pre and Post Tournament. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  5. ^ "Women's Basketball Downs Illinois State, Advances to Second Round of WNIT". University of Missouri Athletics. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  6. ^ "2023-24 Women's Basketball Schedule". Illinois State University Athletics. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  7. ^ "Illinois State Redbirds 2023-24 Regular Season NCAAW Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved March 4, 2024.