McLean County Times

NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State Basketball Coaches Show is set to broadcast live from BloNo Pizza Co. in Normal tonight. The show, presented by The O'Brien Auto Team, will feature insights from Illinois State's head men's basketball coach Ryan Pedon and women's basketball head coach Kristen Gillespie.

For those unable to attend the event in person, the show will be available on WJBC 1230 AM, the Varsity Network, and GoRedbirds.com. Coach Pedon and Coach Gillespie will discuss their recent exhibitions and upcoming games.

The segment with head women's basketball coach Kristen Gillespie begins at 6 p.m., hosted by Greg Halbleib. Freshman guard Trista Fayta will join Gillespie. Fayta, a former finalist for Wisconsin Miss Basketball from Notre Dame High School in Green Bay, Wisconsin, has been a key player off the bench this season for Illinois State.

Recently, the Redbirds split two games but secured a victory against Le Moyne with a score of 71-55 during their home opener. Four players scored in double figures during this game, led by Elyce Knudsen with 15 points in her debut for Illinois State. The team is scheduled to face Harvard on Sunday at CEFCU Arena at 2 p.m., which will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Following Gillespie's segment at 6:45 p.m., head men's basketball coach Ryan Pedon's portion of the show will air, hosted by John Fitzgerald and Mike Matthews. Pedon will be joined by freshman Jack Daugherty who recently made headlines with his performance against Trinity Christian. Daugherty matched an Illinois State record by making eight out of fifteen three-point attempts and scored a total of 28 points.

In their last outing against Trinity Christian inside CEFCU Arena, Illinois State achieved a decisive win with a score of 107-52 and set a program record with twenty made three-pointers – the second-most in Missouri Valley Conference history. Other notable performances came from Dalton Banks (14 points), Landon Wolf (14 points), Johnny Kinziger (13 points), Chase Walker (12 points), and Ty Pence (nine points).

Looking ahead, Illinois State will participate in the Paradise Jam tournament held in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands later this week. Their first matchup is against McNeese on Friday at 2 p.m., also available on ESPN+.

Fans are welcome to attend Monday’s live show at BloNo Pizza Co., located at 1304 Cross Creek Drive in Normal, Illinois. Those who cannot make it can tune into WJBC 1230 AM or catch it online through the Varsity Network or via the Illinois State Athletics Facebook page.

GoRedbirds.com remains a resource for tickets to events featuring Illinois State teams as well as access to multimedia content related to Redbird athletics.