The 2024–25 Illinois State Redbirds women's basketball team represented

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...

during the

2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season The 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began on November 4, 2024. The regular season ended on March 16, 2025, with the 2025 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament beginning with the First Four on March 19 and ending with ...

. The Redbirds, who were led by eighth-year head coach Kristen Gillespie, played their home games at CEFCU Arena in

Normal, Illinois Normal is a town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town's population was 52,736. Normal is the smaller of two principal cities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, and is I ...

as members of the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

Previous season

The Redbirds finished the 2023–24 season 21–11, 13–7 in MVC play, to finish in fifth place. They defeated

Evansville Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 census, it is Indiana's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the most populous city in S ...

, before falling to

Northern Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

in the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament. They received an at-large bid to the WNIT, where they would defeat Charleston in the second round, before falling to

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

in the Super 16.

Preseason

On October 1, 2024, the MVC released their preseason coaches poll. Illinois State was picked to finish seventh in the MVC regular season.

Preseason rankings

Source:

Preseason All-MVC Teams

Source:

Roster

Schedule and results

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2024-25 Illinois State Redbirds women's basketball team

Illinois State Redbirds The Illinois State Redbirds are the athletic teams that represent Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Teams play at the NCAA Division I level ( FCS in football). Most teams compete in the Missouri Valley Conference except football (M ...

Illinois State Redbirds women's basketball seasons

Illinois State Redbirds women's basketball The Illinois State Redbirds women's basketball team represents Illinois State University, located in Normal, Illinois, in NCAA Division I basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing ...

Illinois State Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching ...