McLean County Times

Illinois State graduate guard Maya Wong has been named to the All-MVC Preseason Second Team, as announced by the league office on Tuesday.

Wong is coming off a career year for Illinois State last season, where she averaged 11.8 points and 4.2 assists while starting all 34 games for the Redbirds. She scored in double figures in 21 contests and recorded her first-career 20-plus point outings on December 19 against Saint Louis and February 29 at Southern Illinois. Wong also surpassed 1,000 career points on March 7 against Murray State, becoming the 32nd player in program history to do so.

She is one of the most prolific players in program history at the free throw line. Last season, Wong became the seventh player in program history to hit 300 career free throws, finishing the year ranking fourth in program history with 326 career free throws. She hit a career-best 132 free throws, which ranks fifth on Illinois State's single-season free throws list, and shot 132-153 (86.3%) from the free throw line to lead Illinois State for the third straight season in that category. Wong is the first player in program history to lead the Redbirds in free throw percentage over three consecutive seasons.

Wong also held onto her program-record career free throw percentage, which she set during the 2022-23 campaign. For her career, she shoots 86.9% from the free throw line, which ranks ninth in MVC history.

Wong highlights a core for Illinois State that also features Shannon Dowell, who was selected for the All-MVC Freshman Team in 2024. Former NCAA Division III National Player of the Year Elyce Knudsen (Millikin), Addison Martin (Abilene Christian), and All-MVC Freshman team selection Nevaeh Thomas (Evansville) transferred to Illinois State for the upcoming campaign.

The Redbirds are coming off a WNIT Super 16 appearance last year under head coach Kristen Gillespie, marking their fourth-straight bid in postseason play. Illinois State earned a second-straight season with at least twenty wins, achieving this milestone consecutively for the first time since the periods of 2009-2010 and 2010-2011.

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