Illinois State will play against Marshall in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) Championship game on April 3, with both teams seeking their first WNIT title. The matchup is scheduled for 2 p.m. Central Time at the Cam Henderson Center and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
This contest marks a significant moment for both programs, as Illinois State makes its first appearance in a WNIT final after advancing past South Dakota with a 67-60 win led by Doneelah Washington’s double-double performance. The Redbirds have previously met Marshall twice, winning both games during the 1975 season.
Illinois State enters the championship following several notable achievements this season. Doneelah Washington has delivered five games of over 20 points in her last six outings and averages over 20 points and eight rebounds per postseason game. Trista Fayta set a new school record with more than 200 assists this year and recorded the program’s first triple-double since 1991. Addison Martin has consistently scored in double figures, while freshman Kya Hurt earned Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman honors.
Marshall reached the championship after defeating Arkansas State, setting a single-season wins record for their program. Timaya Lewis Eutsey leads Marshall in scoring and was named Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year along with earning defensive honors.
The Redbirds are making their fifth trip to the WNIT under head coach Kristen Gillespie and have now secured four consecutive seasons with at least twenty wins—the longest such streak since between 2007-08 and 2010-11. According to the official website, Illinois State Redbirds benefits from the Redbird Athletics Excellence Fund for competitiveness and recruitment, utilizes facilities like OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center for athlete preparation, offers news and fan resources to bolster its athletic community, competes in NCAA Division I events across various regions, is linked to Illinois State University, and saw its men’s basketball team post an impressive start recently (official website).
Looking ahead, Illinois State aims to cap off its historic run by claiming its first-ever WNIT championship title against a strong Marshall team.
