# 2017–18 Illinois State Redbirds women's basketball team

The 2017–18 Illinois State Redbirds women's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by first-year head coach Kristen Gillespie, played their home games at Redbird Arena and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). They finished the season 14–16, 8–10 in MVC play, to finish in sixth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley women's tournament to Northern Iowa.

## Previous season

In 2016–17, the Redbirds finished the season 8–23, 5–13 in MVC play, to finish in ninth place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley women's tournament where they lost to Northern Iowa.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 1, 2017* 7:00 p.m. | | Eureka | W 80–54 | | Redbird Arena (564) Normal, IL |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 11, 2017* 12:00 p.m. | | at Oakland | L 43–64 | 0–1 | Athletics Center O'rena (801) Rochester, MI |
| November 15, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Northern Kentucky | W 49–37 | 1–1 | Redbird Arena (561) Normal, IL |
| November 22, 2017* 11:00 a.m. | | at George Mason | L 37–56 | 1–2 | EagleBank Arena (432) Fairfax, VA |
| November 26, 2017* 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | UMKC | W 64–53 | 2–2 | Redbird Arena (572) Normal, IL |
| November 30, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | SIU Edwardsville | W 62–47 | 3–2 | Redbird Arena (782) Normal, IL |
| December 2, 2017* 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Butler | L 45–56 | 3–3 | Redbird Arena (613) Normal, IL |
| December 7, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Milwaukee | L 59–61 | 3–4 | Klotsche Center (389) Milwaukee, WI |
| December 10, 2017* 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Eastern Michigan | W 65–56 | 4–4 | Redbird Arena (592) Normal, IL |
| December 17, 2017* 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Cleveland State | L 47–56 | 4–5 | Redbird Arena (657) Normal, IL |
| December 20, 2017* 5:00 p.m. | | at Long Beach State Beach Classic semifinals | W 59–51 | 5–5 | Walter Pyramid (712) Long Beach, CA |
| December 21, 2017* 4:00 p.m. | | vs. Northeastern Beach Classic championship game | W 65–55 | 6–5 | Walter Pyramid (684) Long Beach, CA |
| Missouri Valley regular season ||||||
| December 31, 2017 11:00 a.m., ESPN3 | | Bradley | L 42–62 | 6–6 (0–1) | Redbird Arena (741) Normal, IL |
| January 5, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Valparaiso | L 50–56 | 6–7 (0–2) | Athletics–Recreation Center (372) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 7, 2018 1:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Loyola–Chicago | L 59–62 | 6–8 (0–3) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (302) Chicago, IL |
| January 12, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Missouri State | L 50–56 | 6–9 (0–4) | Redbird Arena (718) Normal, IL |
| January 14, 2018 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Southern Illinois | W 49–46 | 7–9 (1–4) | Redbird Arena (1,528) Normal, IL |
| January 19, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Evansville | W 67–43 | 8–9 (2–4) | Meeks Family Fieldhouse (447) Evansville, IN |
| January 21, 2018 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Indiana State | L 49–52 | 8–10 (2–5) | Hulman Center (1,811) Terre Haute, IN |
| January 26, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Drake | L 58–65 | 8–11 (2–6) | Redbird Arena (607) Normal, IL |
| January 28, 2018 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Northern Iowa | L 36–58 | 8–12 (2–7) | Redbird Arena (1,073) Normal, IL |
| February 2, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Loyola–Chicago | W 57–49 | 9–12 (3–7) | Redbird Arena (719) Normal, IL |
| February 4, 2018 1:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Valparaiso | W 63–55 | 10–12 (4–7) | Redbird Arena (741) Normal, IL |
| February 9, 2018 6:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Southern Illinois | W 39–36 | 11–12 (5–7) | SIU Arena (658) Carbondale, IL |
| February November 2018 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Missouri State | L 58–75 | 11–13 (5–8) | JQH Arena (1,246) Springfield, MO |
| February 16, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Indiana State | W 63–53 | 12–13 (6–8) | Redbird Arena (579) Normal, IL |
| February 18, 2018 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Evansville | W 70–44 | 13–13 (7–8) | Redbird Arena (1,109) Normal, IL |
| February 23, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Northern Iowa | L 48–66 | 13–14 (7–9) | McLeod Center (1,461) Cedar Falls, IA |
| February 25, 2018 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Drake | L 64–80 | 13–15 (7–10) | Knapp Center (3,152) Des Moines, IA |
| March 3, 2018 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Bradley | W 53–41 | 14–15 (8–10) | Renaissance Coliseum (810) Peoria, IL |
| Missouri Valley women's tournament ||||||
| March 9, 2018 8:30 p.m., ESPN3 | (6) | vs. (3) Northern Iowa Quarterfinals | L 36–56 | 14–16 | TaxSlayer Center (1,706) Moline, IL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
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