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Champaign, Ill. - 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.
"That was a good start for our team," head coach Matt Bollant said of the exhibition opener. "I'm pleased with how we played, I thought we shared the basketball really well. Before the game, we talked about playing for the front of our shirts and what it means to play for Illinois. We want to bring pride to this program and we will do that by sharing the basketball, playing hard and making the extra pass. I thought we did that today. We had everyone score, everyone record an assist and everyone got a rebound. I don't know if that's ever happened here since I've been on staff. It's great to see so many different players step up and make shots and move the basketball. I think we have a lot of weapons this season which is exciting."
The Illini got off to a handy lead in the first half, going into the break with a 53-18 advantage. Sophomore Chatrice White led Illinois in the half, totaling 18 points, and the three Illini freshmen made a major impact as well. Jaelyne Kirkpatrick recorded 13 points before the break, while Alex Wittinger grabbed a team-leading six rebounds in the first half.
The Illini continued to keep the pressure on in the second half, allowing just four Greyhound points in the third quarter. Wittinger led the Illini with eight rebounds in the game, while freshmen Kirkpatrick and Cierra Rice put up double-figure scoring numbers in their exhibition debuts.
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.
"I think we grew a lot today from our scrimmage last Saturday," Bollant said of the team's progress. "We were way better offensively today, and the goal is to just keep growing each day. I'm not going to put any limits on this team. We really have a chance to be special. We are a really good offensive team, but I thought the defensive rebounding was not great today. It got better after the first quarter, but that's something we have to get better at. There is an exciting future for this program and we're going to keep working on getting better."
The Illini begin the regular season on Friday, Nov. 13, hosting Chicago State in a 7 p.m. game at Parkland College. Single game and season tickets are still available, and can be purchased online at Tickets.FIGHTINGILLINI.com.
Stay tuned to FIGHTINGILLINI.com for all the latest as the 2015-16 women's basketball season tips off. Fans can also follow the Illini on Twitter (@IlliniWBB), Facebook (/IlliniWBB) and Instagram (@IlliniWBB).
