ST LOUIS – Nevaeh Thomas tallied a game-high 21 points with 10 rebounds, but Illinois State women's basketball (1-1, 0-0 MVC) dropped its first game of the season Tuesday night at Saint Louis (1-2, 0-0 A10) 78-71 inside Chaifetz Arena.  

HIGHLIGHTS 

• Thomas scored 15 of her 21 points in the first half, after tallying 12 points to open the game in the first quarter. The performance marked her first double-double as a Redbird. She was 9-for-16 from the floor and hit a pair of threes in the game. 

• Four other Birds reached double-figures, including Lauren Cohen's first double-figure performance in her second-career start. She finished with 11 points and was 3-for-3 from deep. Shannon Dowell tallied 14 points, while Addison Martin totaled 12 points and Maya Wong finished with 11 points.  

• Led by Thomas, Illinois State raced out to a 19-10 lead in the first quarter. She connected on a three-pointer with 1:35 to play in the first that stretched the lead to nine.  

• Illinois State used a 10-0 run to lead 31-19 at the 6:14 mark in the second quarter. Dowell tallied a pair of buckets before Cohen knocked down back-to-back three-pointers. Saint Louis surged however and led 41-39 heading into the locker room.  

• Both sides traded blows in the third quarter. The Redbirds used a 10-4 run and led 51-45 to kickstart the second half, before Saint Louis cut the Redbird lead to 51-50 at the 5:05 mark of the third. Dowell's layup in the final moments of the third gave the Redbirds a 57-54 advantage heading into the final quarter.  

• The Billikens jumped ahead 68-61 with 5:10 to play in the fourth and never surrendered the advantage.  

GAME NOTES 

• Thomas notched the second double-double of the year for Illinois State, after Martin did so to open the season at Northwestern. She is the fourth Redbird over the last two seasons to record a 20-point, 10-rebound double double, joining Dowell, DeAnna Wilson and Kate Bullman.  

• Wong recorded a pair of milestones Tuesday. With five assists in the game, she surpassed 400 for her Redbird career and is the 8th player in program history to tally 400 career assists. It was also Wong's 100th career start in a Redbird uniform, putting her ninth in program history. 

• Illinois State put 4+ players into double figures for the second-straight game to open the year, after Thomas, Martin, Dowell and Wong reached double figures in the season opener at Northwestern.  

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