Meet Illinois State basketball player Maya Wong
NORMAL, Ill. — Maya Wong can get home with just a quick drive across town.
Her apartment near the Illinois State University campus is just a few minutes from the house where she grew up, attended Sugar Creek and Benjamin elementary schools, Evans Junior High School and became a 2020 graduate of Normal Community High School.
That feeling of being home is what drew Wong to the Illinois State women鈥檚 basketball program. The feeling of family has kept her a Redbird and turned her into a key cog as a redshirt junior point guard.
鈥淚t sounds a little obvious to say it, but it feels at home here,鈥� Wong said. 鈥淚 had interest and offers from other places, but I never liked the idea of taking a plane ride to come home. After a couple of visits to ISU, I knew this is the place I wanted to be.鈥�
After redshirting her freshman year, Wong has made herself at home in Coach Kristen Gillespie鈥檚 rotation, cracking the starting lineup full-time to begin her sophomore season. Through January, Wong has started every game since and is one of three Redbirds to average 30 minutes or more per game this season.
鈥淚 learned how to come off the bench my first year to do what I could to help the team,鈥� Wong said. 鈥淒efense maybe wasn鈥檛 always my strong suit at that point, so I learned a lot and got better.
鈥淏y my sophomore year, I felt well-prepared to take on the true point guard role and run the offense.鈥�
Wong leads the Redbirds in assists with 71 and a remarkable 93 percent showing at the free-throw line. That marksmanship ties her for fifth in the nation among Division I players.
Her approach at the line is simple. One dribble to create rhythm, then shoot. It has worked to the tune of 170 of 198 from the line for her career.
鈥淔ree throw shooting isn鈥檛 a stat line that gets a lot of attention,鈥� Wong said. 鈥淏ut the way I look at it is they鈥檙e free points and something that is super easy to work on in practice.鈥�
Wong is fourth on the team with 7.3 points per game average. She had a season-high 16 points in a win over Missouri State in early January. Though coaches have encouraged her to look to score more often, Wong says she鈥檚 most comfortable with a pass-first mentality.
鈥淚 like to pass,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one of my favorite things to do to try to get everybody involved and make sure everyone is contributing to the win. I want to see everything run smoothly. That鈥檚 how I play best.鈥�
The Redbirds rolled into the month of February in first place in the Missouri Valley with a 9-1 mark and looking to capture their first regular-season championship since winning back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010.
Wong鈥檚 to-do list also includes repeating as conference tournament champions, earning a second-straight bid to the NCAA Tournament and winning a game this year. As a No. 15 seed in last season鈥檚 Big Dance, the Redbirds fell victim to second-seeded Iowa and scoring machine Caitlin Clark in Iowa鈥檚 sold-out home arena.
鈥淭he tournament is something that not everyone gets to experience,鈥� Wong said. 鈥淕oing to Iowa and playing in front of 15,000 people was a little nerve-wracking. But now we know what it鈥檚 like. Having that experience gives us the confidence that we can and should be there.鈥�
Wong will finish her undergraduate degree in psychology this May. She will play her senior season with the Redbirds as a graduate student. She would like to participate in ISU鈥檚 clinical counseling program or the sports psychology program.
鈥淚 would like to help others,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think I have good experience and perspective to offer, especially with athletes who might struggle to balance school with being an athlete or might be having struggles with mental health.鈥�
And, her assists will surely keep piling up.
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