# 2023–24 Illinois State Redbirds women's basketball team

The 2023–24 Illinois State Redbirds women's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by seventh-year head coach Kristen Gillespie, played their home games at CEFCU Arena in Normal, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

## Previous season

The Redbirds finished the 2022–23 season 24–9, 17–3 in MVC play to finish in a tie for first place. In the MVC tournament, they defeated Murray State in the quarterfinals, before being upset by eventual tournament champions Drake in the semifinals. They received an automatic bid into the WNIT, where they would lose to Missouri in the first round.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 29, 2023* 1:00 pm | | Illinois Wesleyan | W 94–56 | – | CEFCU Arena (–) Normal, IL |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 6, 2023* 5:00 pm, SLN | | at Omaha | W 105–59 | 1–0 | Baxter Arena (512) Omaha, NE |
| November 11, 2023* 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Mount St. Mary's | L 62–88 | 1–1 | Baxter Arena (1,863) Omaha, NE |
| November 15, 2023* 11:00 am, ESPN+ | | SIU Edwardsville | W 90–86 | 2–1 | CEFCU Arena (7,581) Normal, IL |
| November 19, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | St. Francis (IL) | W 89–51 | 3–1 | CEFCU Arena (1,039) Normal, IL |
| November 24, 2023* 6:00 pm | | vs. UT Arlington Saint Mary's Thanksgiving Classic | W 87–63 | 4–1 | University Credit Union Pavilion (89) Moraga, CA |
| November 25, 2023* 5:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Saint Mary's Saint Mary's Thanksgiving Classic | W 62–51 | 5–1 | University Credit Union Pavilion (352) Moraga, CA |
| November 30, 2023* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Chicago State | W 102–47 | 6–1 | CEFCU Arena (916) Normal, IL |
| December 3, 2023* 1:00 pm, ACCNX | | at No. 5 NC State | L 61–79 | 6–2 | Reynolds Coliseum (5,500) Raleigh, NC |
| December 10, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | No. 19 Marquette | L 62–64 | 6–3 | CEFCU Arena (2,129) Normal, IL |
| December 19, 2023* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Saint Louis | W 87–81 | 7–3 | CEFCU Arena (1,281) Normal, IL |
| MVC regular season ||||||
| December 30, 2023 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Bradley I-74 Rivalry | W 78–74 | 8–3 (1–0) | CEFCU Arena (2,241) Normal, IL |
| January 4, 2024 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Belmont | L 52–64 | 8–4 (1–1) | Curb Event Center (878) Nashville, TN |
| January 6, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Murray State | L 55–90 | 8–5 (1–2) | CFSB Center (1,631) Murray, KY |
| January 10, 2024 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Southern Illinois | W 76–43 | 9–5 (2–2) | CEFCU Arena (1,075) Normal, IL |
| January 14, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Missouri State | W 85–78 | 10–5 (3–2) | CEFCU Arena (1,056) Normal, IL |
| January 19, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Valparaiso | W 77–68 | 11–5 (4–2) | Athletics–Recreation Center (295) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 21, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UIC | L 79–86 $^{OT}$ | 11–6 (4–3) | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,731) Chicago, IL |
| January 25, 2024 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Iowa | W 88–77 | 12–6 (5–3) | CEFCU Arena (1,614) Normal, IL |
| January 27, 2024 4:00 pm, Marquee/ESPN+ | | Drake | W 79–70 | 13–6 (6–3) | CEFCU Arena (2,487) Normal, IL |
| February 4, 2024 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Indiana State | W 64–59 | 14–6 (7–3) | Hulman Center (1,209) Terre Haute, IN |
| February 8, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Iowa | L 47–74 | 14–7 (7–4) | McLeod Center (3,834) Cedar Falls, IA |
| February 10, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Drake | L 64–79 | 14–8 (7–5) | Knapp Center (3,792) Des Moines, IA |
| February 15, 2024 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | UIC | W 64–61 | 15–8 (8–5) | CEFCU Arena (1,379) Normal, IL |
| February 17, 2024 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Valparaiso | W 78–64 | 16–8 (9–5) | CEFCU Arena (2,941) Normal, IL |
| February 22, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Bradley I-74 Rivalry | W 68–50 | 17–8 (10–5) | Renaissance Coliseum (510) Peoria, IL |
| February 25, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Evansville | W 78–50 | 18–8 (11–5) | CEFCU Arena (2,412) Normal, IL |
| February 29, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois | W 75–66 | 19–8 (12–5) | Banterra Center (600) Carbondale, IL |
| March 2, 2024 2:00 pm, MVCN/ESPN+ | | at Missouri State | L 62–67 | 19–9 (12–6) | Great Southern Bank Arena (3,030) Springfield, MO |
| March 7, 2024 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Murray State | W 85–75 | 20–9 (13–6) | CEFCU Arena (1,472) Normal, IL |
| March 9, 2024 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Belmont | L 69-72 | 20-10 (13-7) | CEFCU Arena (1,725) Normal, IL |
| MVC tournament ||||||
| March 14, 2024 2:30 pm, ESPN+ | (5) | vs. (12) Evansville Opening Round | W 85-64 | 21-10 | Vibrant Arena at The MARK (776) Moline, IL |
| March 15, 2024 2:30 pm, ESPN+ | (5) | vs. (4) Northern Iowa Quarterfinals | L 75-79 | 21-11 | Vibrant Arena at The MARK (1,515) Moline, IL |
| WNIT ||||||
| March 24, 2024* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Charleston Second round | W 74-67 | 22–11 | CEFCU Arena (1,537) Normal, IL |
| March 28, 2024* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | at Wisconsin Super 16 | L 61-86 | 22–12 | Kohl Center (3,133) Madison, WI |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
Sources: