Kristen Gillespie

The Illinois State women's basketball team fell to Marshall University, 66-41, in the WNIT championship on Saturday in Huntington, West Virginia.

Illinois State is one of only two institutions that can boast that it had both of its basketball programs playing in the national semifinals.

The Redbirds fell to No. 10 seed Evansville, 75-70, in the MVC Tournament semifinals at Xtreme Arena in Coralville, Iowa.

The third-seeded Redbirds, who improve to 20-12 on the season, advance to Saturday’s 4 p.m. semifinal against No. 10 seed Evansville which upset No. 2 seed Belmont, 76-63, earlier Friday.

The Redbirds bested the Bradley Braves with a last second free throw for a score of 66-65. Kristen Gillespie's team is now the No. 3 seed for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

The Redbird women's first game of the season takes place Nov. 3, when they will host the Dayton Flyers.

Jeri Beggs is now officially ISU's athletics director, after serving in that role on an interim basis since May 2023. Beggs was named to the position Wednesday following a national search that began in November 2024.

Kristen Gillespie has led the Redbirds to four consecutive postseason appearances, including the 2022 Missouri Valley Conference championship.

The first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 14 years for the Illinois State women's basketball team was a short one. The Redbirds lost their opening round game, 98-58, at No. 2-seed Iowa before a sellout crowd at Carver Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

The Illinois State women's basketball team will play at No. 2 seed Iowa on Friday in the NCAA tournament.