Illinois State and Louisiana Tech play in NIT

By Canadian Press on March 31, 2025.

Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (18-15, 9-11 CUSA) at Illinois State Redbirds (23-12, 15-7 MVC)

Bloomington, Illinois; Monday, 7 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Illinois State plays Louisiana Tech in the National Invitation Tournament.

The Redbirds are 15-7 against MVC opponents and 8-5 in non-conference play. Illinois State is third in the MVC with 25.2 defensive rebounds per game led by Nevaeh Thomas averaging 5.4.

The Lady Techsters are 9-11 in CUSA play. Louisiana Tech has a 2-0 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer.

Illinois State makes 48.2% of its shots from the field this season, which is 8.0 percentage points higher than Louisiana Tech has allowed to its opponents (40.2%). Louisiana Tech averages 66.3 points per game, 1.8 fewer than the 68.1 Illinois State allows.

TOP PERFORMERS: Maya Wong is averaging 8.5 points and 4.1 assists for the Redbirds. Shannon Dowell is averaging 22.2 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 50.6% over the past 10 games.

Paris Bradley is averaging 14.3 points for the Lady Techsters. Jordan Marshall is averaging 10.8 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Redbirds: 7-3, averaging 75.7 points, 31.0 rebounds, 15.5 assists, 5.4 steals and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 48.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.4 points per game.

Lady Techsters: 5-5, averaging 65.1 points, 34.2 rebounds, 9.3 assists, 5.0 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 40.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 65.7 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press