THE BASICS
Coaches:
Illinois: Matt Bollant // 43-51 at Illinois (4th year) // 325-106 overall (14th year)
Chicago State: Angela Jackson // 127-229 at CSU (13th year) // 133-248 overall (14th year)
Series Notes vs. Chicago State
Series Record: Illinois leads 4-0
Last Meeting: Illinois 73, Chicago State 46 (Dec. 8, 2007 // Chicago, Ill.)
Series Streak: Won 4
Series in Champaign: Illinois leads 1-0
Series Streak in Champaign: Won 1
Bollant vs. Chicago State: 1-0
Illinois is...
...entering its fourth season under head coach Matt Bollant
...welcoming five newcomers to the squad
...playing its first four games at Parkland College
...looking to its newcomers to make an immediate impact
FAN FACTS
Friday's game will be live streamed on FIGHTINGLLINI.com, or fans can follow live scoring for the contest. Tickets for the game will be general admission and available at the door for $5, or can be purchased online here. Fans attending games at Parkland should park in lot M6, and enter through the Main North entrance.
Quick Hits
• Friday's Game: The Illini open the 2015-16 season on Friday at Parkland College against the Chicago State Cougars. It will be the fifth meeting between the two teams and just the second in Champaign.
• Illini in Season Openers: Illinois begins its 42nd season of women's basketball on Friday and is 24-17 all-time in openers. The Illini are 2-1 in season debuts under Matt Bollant, beating Evansville 84-52 in 2012 and falling 98-92 at Bradley in 2013. The Illini defeated IPFW, 70-63, last season. Illinois is 16-4 all-time when opening the season at home and 31-10 in home openers.
• Recent Season Opener History: Illinois is 2-3 in its last five season openers with the last victory coming at home over IPFW in 2014. The Orange and Blue are 6-2 in their last eight games when beginning the season at home, dating back to the 2002-03 campaign.
• SCOUTING CHICAGO STATE: The Cougars will also open their 2015-16 season on Friday, looking to improve from last year's 4-25 overall record. Chicago State dropped its last six games of the 2014-15 season. The Cougars welcome six newcomers to the squad this year, returning just two starters from last season. The team lost it's leading scorer in Paris Williams, but returns its number-two scorer in Layne Murphy who averaged 10.4 ppg last year.
• Illini CRUISE PAST GREYHOUNDS IN EXHIBITION: Fighting Illini Women's Basketball started its season on a high note Saturday afternoon, tallying a 95-36 exhibition win over the University of Indianapolis at Parkland College. The Orange and Blue saw all nine players on the floor put up at least three points in the game, and the Illini assisted on 20 of 35 field goals in the contest. Illinois out rebounded the Greyhounds 38-26 and held UIndy to just under 23-percent shooting in the game. The Illini dropped 13 three-pointers in the contest, while shooting over 54-percent from the floor.
A PROMISING FUTURE
The Illini are headed into the 2015-16 season with a positive outlook on things to come. The team returns starters Chatrice White and Kyley Simmons, and also brings back experienced returners in Kennedy Cattenhead, Sarah Hartwell, Brooke Kissinger and Ashley McConnell. Several Illini newcomers bring major promise, as Simone Law and Eriel Davis each have Division I playing experience under their belts. Illini freshmen Cierra Rice, Jaelyne Kirkpatrick and Alex Wittinger are a decorated incoming class as they are each ranked among the top-5 recruits in their home state.
WHITE RETURNS FOR SUPER SOPHOMORE SEASON
Returning for her sophomore season, Chatrice White, expects no sophomore slump. She closed out the 2014-15 season averaging 14.5 points per game and a team-leading 7.0 rebounds per contest. She owns the Illinois freshman records for scoring and blocked shots as she led the team with 60 rejections.
ILLINI LOOKING FOR NEW CONTRIBUTORS
The Illini will have a few holes to fill in the absence of recent graduates Ivory Crawford and Brittany Carter. The two combined for an average of 23.6 points per game, and Carter led the team in steals, closing the season with 80. Crawford grabbed 64 steals herself last season, helping the Illini to a league-leading 11.2 steals per game.
PARKLAND PREVIEW
Due to renovation in the State Farm Center, Illinois will play its first five games of the season at Parkland College. The Illini will host Indianapolis in an exhibition matchup before welcoming Chicago State, Ohio, UT Martin and Tennessee State to Champaign. Following a Dec. 2 contest at Miami, UI will move into the new SFC, hosting Lehigh on Dec. 6. Fans attending games at Parkland should park in lot M6, and enter through the Main North entrance.
NEWCOMERS
The Illini welcome a decorated class of freshman this year, including Parade All-American Cierra Rice, who was ranked as the No. 1 player out of Michigan. Ranked at No. 5 in the state of Minnesota, Alex Wittinger also joins the Illini this year. She grabbed 21 rebounds in her first outing with the Illini, an exhibition matchup against the AMW All Stars in Paris, France. Coming off of a stint with the Canadian National team, Jaelyne Kirkpatrick joins the Illini this season. She was ranked as the No. 1 guard in Canada.
The Illini also welcome some experience to the program this year in seniors Eriel Davis and Simone Law. Law comes to Illinois from Loyola-Chicago, where she earned First Team All-Horizon League honors and was twice named to the Horizon League All-Tournament Team. Davis, a native of Danville, returns to the Illini squad after two seasons. She was a member of the 2012-13 squad and assisted the team as a practice player prior to that.
ILLINI WELCOME JODY MARTINEZ
Head coach Matt Bollant announced the addition of Jody Martinez to the Illini staff over the summer. Martinez brings 17 years of head coaching experience with him, and he has led his teams to more than 400 wins in his head-coaching career. Martinez comes to Illinois from Southeastern University, where he led the Fire to a 25-7 record in the 2014-15 season and guided the program to its first-ever NAIA Division II Women's Basketball NIT. Prior to his stint at Southeastern, Martinez served as the head coach for the Bethel Pilots, where he led the Lady Pilots to 20 or more wins in 15 of his 16 seasons at the helm of the program, and prior to his arrival in 1998, the program had never seen a winning season. Martinez guided the Lady Pilots to six NCCAA National Championship titles and made seven trips to the NAIA National Tournament including five elite eight appearances. His teams won three MCC regular season titles and an MCC tournament championship as well.
ILLINI MAKE WAVES ON A NATIONAL STAGE
Illini sophomore Chatrice White and freshman Jaelyne Kirkpatrick were busy over the summer, competing at the FIBA U19 World Championships. Kirkpatrick competed for Canada, while White helped to bring home the gold on team USA. White averaged five points per game while in Russia, playing in seven games throughout the tournament.
TOUR DE FRANCE
The Illini packed in some extra practice over the summer, heading overseas to play a few games in France. The Illini faced off against Paris' professional team, the AMW All Stars, and also played two games against Bretigny Select. Freshmen Alex Wittinger, Jaelyne Kirkpatrick and Cierra Rice got a taste of competition, as they competed with their new teammates for the first time.
While across the pond, the Illini got to take some time to see the sights. Tour stops included the Eiffel Tower, Monaco, Lyon, and Nice.
A NEW HOME
After the 2013-14 season, the Fighting Illini had to vacate their home arena, State Farm Center, as the three-year, $169.5 million Illinois Renaissance renovation project began. The renovation includes the installation of premium seating, upgrades to team locker rooms, all concourses, concession and restroom facilities, and wider aisles and increased access for patrons with disabilities. In addition, air conditioning will be installed and grand entrances will be constructed on the arena's east and west sides. While most of the first year of construction's work was mechanical and infrastructure-related, fans will notice new, blue seats in the 200 level, which was formerly known as "C" section.
ILLINI INK FOUR FOR 2016
THe Fighting Illini Women's Basketball program and head coach Matt Bollant announce the signing of four standout players to national letters of intent on Wednesday, Nov. 11. Ali Andrews (Lake in the Hills, Ill.), Brandi Beasley (Memphis, Tenn.), Courtney Joens (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and Sarah Overcash (Chevy Chase, Md.) will join the Illini for the 2016-17 season.
Ali Andrews // 6-2 // F // Lake in the Hills, Ill. // Huntley HS
Ranked the No. 14 forward in the country and No. 1 in Illinois by ESPN HoopGurlz…Ranked as the No. 79 recruit in the nation…Class 4A All-State Team…Helped Huntley to two-straight Fox Valley Conference Valley Division titles…Has scored more than 1,800 points in her high school career so far…Daily Herald Fox Valley All-Area Team Co-Captain…Associated Press First Team All-State selection…Has earned Huntley three consecutive regional titles and two straight sectional titles.
Brandi Beasley // 5-6 // G // Memphis, Tenn. // Ridgeway HS
Stands as the No. 2-ranked recruit from the state of Tennessee and the No. 27-ranked point guard in the nation by ESPN HoopGurlz…AAA Miss Basketball Finalist…Chose Illinois over Florida, MTSU, UT Martin, Vanderbilt and Memphis…Plans to study engineering at Illinois.
Courtney Joens // 5-10 // G // Iowa City, Iowa // City High
Achievements: Ranked the No. 27 point guard in the country by ESPN HoopGurlz, and the top out of the state of Iowa…Ranked among the top-5 guards in Iowa by IowaPreps.com…Holds City High's single-game records for points (42) and three-pointers (8)…Chose Illinois over Creighton, Drake, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota and DePaul…Made 41 three-pointers in her sophomore season while averaging 14.6 points per game…Took City High to the 2013 state semifinals…Volunteers at her local elementary school and at her church…Consistently appears on the Iowa City High School Honor Roll.
Sarah Overcash // 6-1 // F // Chevy Chase, Md. // St. John's College
The top-ranked recruit out of the District of Columbia…Named DCSAA First Team All-State in 2015…Played with Penn State's Amari Carter and Michigan signee Kayla Robbins…Chose Illinois over Penn and Princeton…First-Team All-WCAC selection.
