NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State women's basketball (24-13, 14-6 MVC) saw its postseason run come to an end as the Redbirds fell 99-96 to Troy (24-13, 13-5 Sun Belt).  

HIGHLIGHTS 

• Shannon Dowell scored a program postseason record and career-high 37 points, finishing 8-for-13 from the field and 8-for-8 from the free throw line. She scored 12 points in the third quarter as Illinois State jumped ahead by as many as ten in the period.  

• Five Redbirds finished in double-figures, as Nevaeh Thomas tallied 15 points, Maya Wong put up 13 points, Elyce Knudsen scored 12 points and Doneelah Washington totaled 11 points. 

• Washington, who also finished with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal to go with her 11 points, led Illinois State early scoring eight points in the first quarter. Her bucket at the 5:15 mark gave Illinois State a 16-13 lead.  

• Troy took a 35-26 lead in the second, but Dowell's 15 points in the quarter helped Illinois State grab a 45-42 advantage heading into the locker room. She scored the final five points of the first half, including a steal and fastbreak layup along with a triple for the lead.  

• Wong scored six-straight points in the early moments of the second half and Illinois State grabbed its largest lead at the time 53-44.  

• Troy fought within one, but seven-straight Dowell points gave Illinois State a 63-57 lead at the 3:06 mark of the third. After a Knudsen bucket put Illinois State up eight points, Dowell scored five-straight Redbird points for the largest Illinois State lead of the game 70-60.  

• The Trojans fought back again, taking an 82-80 lead at the 4:13 mark of the third. The lead changed hands four times over two minutes, with Troy taking an 87-86 advantage with 2:22 to go that they never surrendered.  

• Knudsen and Illinois State got a clean look to tie on the final possession that didn't fall.  

GAME NOTES 

• Dowell finished with 30+ points for the second time this season, after tallying 30 points in the MVC Tournament vs Drake March 14.  

• Dowell's outing is tied for the fourth-highest scoring output in a single game in program history. She tied Paige Robinson and Juliunn Redmond's 37-point performances in 2021-22 and 2022-23 for the most by a Redbird in a single game under Kristen Gillespie.  

• Illinois State shot 62.5% from the field in the win, which breaks the postseason program record of 57.1% from the field set in the win over Louisiana Tech on Monday. It is the best the Redbirds have shot from the field in a single game since at least 2009-10.  

• Illinois State finished better than 50% from the field and the floor in all four games of their 2025 WNIT run.  

• The Redbirds finished with 4+ double-figure scorers for the 26th time this season. Illinois State is 32-10 when putting 4+ in double-figures since the start of the 2023-24 campaign. 

• Dowell averaged 25.8 points per game on 58.1% shooting from the field across four WNIT games this season. That includes three performances of 20+ points.  

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