Published on April 2, 2026 7:03 am
Last Updated on April 2, 2026 7:04 am
Grace Nelson
The Illinois State women’s basketball team will be playing for the championship of the NIT Tournament Saturday and area basketball fans will want to note who is a member of the team.
Grace Nelson will be taking the floor. Area fans will remember Nelson who guided Altamont High School to an IHSA State Finals appearance in 2023-24.
Nelson was a finalist for Illinois Miss Basketball in 2024, finishing third. She averaged 30.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.9 steals and 2.9 assists for the Indians, who finished with a 28-7 record and in third place in the 2024 Class 1A State Tournament.
She was a three-time IBCA All-State First Team pick, scoring over 2,000 career points in four varsity seasons and ranks eighth on the all-time state single-season scoring list with 1,066 points during her senior campaign. She finished with 2,862 points for her career, ranking 15th in state history.
Now she is playing for Illinois State University. Things started out rocky for Nelson during her first year. Nelson had to red-shirt her freshman season due to an injury.
For the second-straight season, Illinois State punched its ticket to the WNIT Fab 4 following its 61-53 victory over George Washington on Monday night at CEFCU Arena in the tournament quarterfinals.
The team then squared off against South Dakota at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center for a chance to head to the championship game.
The Redbirds handled South Dakota with a 67-60 tally. Nelson played 30 minutes where she grabbed a rebound, had an assist and a blocked shot.
Next up the Redbirds will meet Marshall who defeated Arkansas State, 69-62. The championship contest will be at Marshall’s Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, West Virginia at 2 p.m.