Illinois State women’s basketball set on enjoying NCAA Tournament experience
As Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champions, the Redbirds are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008.
Illinois State head coach Kristen Gillespie observes a piece of paper during the 2022 NCAA First Round women’s basketball pre-game press conferences and open practices at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Thursday, March 17, 2022. Gillespie said the Redbirds are here to win, but also to enjoy the experience. “We are here to try to win, and that is all our intention is to do everything we can to win tomorrow,” Gillespie said, “but I want to make sure that our players enjoy every second of this too.”
March 17, 2022
Illinois State women’s basketball is in uncharted territory.
The Redbirds are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 14 years, and head coach Kristen Gillespie wants her team to enjoy their new experiences.
“I know that this week is very fleeting, and we are here,” Gillespie said on Thursday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. “We are here to try to win, and that is all our intention is to do everything we can to win tomorrow. But I want to make sure that our players enjoy every second of this.”
This is Gillespie’s first trip to the Division I NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament as a head coach. Gillespie led Lewis University to two Division II NCAA Tournament appearances before becoming the head coach of Illinois State in 2017.
Under Gillespie’s leadership, Illinois State made an appearance in the WNIT in 2020-21 — its first postseason appearance in eight years.
Now, the 2021-22 Redbirds are coming into the NCAA Tournament with a 19-13 record.
Illinois State won the 2022 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on March 13 with a 50-48 victory over University of Northern Iowa. Gillespie described the victory — Illinois State’s first MVC Tournament Championship since 2008 — as a whirlwind.
“We won. We cut down nets. We got on the bus,” Gillespie said. “There was a big pep rally in the selection show, and I wanted our staff to take a moment to enjoy it, and then our staff got to work on Monday.”
The Redbird staff had a challenge in preparing a scout for the Hawkeyes. Iowa’s point guard, Caitlin Clark, leads the country with 27.4 points and 7.9 assists per game while adding on an average of 8.1 rebounds.
Many of Clark’s assists stem from Hawkeye senior center Monika Czinano, who leads the nation with a 67.8 field goal percentage.
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“They’re both two amazingly talented players, and one of them being a point forward and the other one being a post, it can kind of make it tough to stop,” Redbird junior Mary Crompton said. “But our coaches are really good at coming up with good scouts and good game plans.”
Crompton is the Redbirds’ third-leading scorer, averaging 9.4 points per game. Fifth-year senior guard Juliunn Redmond and junior DeAnna Wilson lead Illinois State with 17.4 and 13.1 points per game, respectively.
Both Redmond and Wilson were named to the 2021-22 All-Missouri Valley Conference first team.
The 15th-seeded Redbirds have a tall task in front of them, taking on the second-seeded Hawkeyes on Iowa’s home court. No. 15 seeds are 0-108 all-time against No. 2 seeds in NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament history.
But the Redbirds are ready to get an upset.
“This is a new experience for, I think, everyone on our team,” Crompton said. “So, we’re just enjoying the new experience of March Madness and all the fun that that brings, but still, whenever it’s practice time, we’re ready to go, and we’re locked in and we’re coming to win tomorrow, so we’ll be ready.”
The Redbirds and the Hawkeyes will tip off at approximately 3:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon at Carver. The game will be aired nationally on ESPN.