University of Illinois
Fort Wayne
Illini Welcome Fort Wayne Friday
December 1, 2016 | Women's Basketball
The Illini and the Mastodons will face off at 7 p.m. Friday
| Game 7: Illinois (2-4) vs. Fort Wayne (1-6) | |
|---|---|
| When | Friday, Dec. 2 // 7 p.m. |
| Where | State Farm Center // Champaign, Ill. |
| Live Links | Live Stats // Watch (BTN Plus) // Listen |
| Promotions |
Toy Drive benefiting Toys for Tots // Free Throw Friday Dad & Daughter Date Night - Get Tickets | For $15, includes 2 tickets, 2 $5 concession vouchers, and a Fighting Illini Prize Pack |
| Buy Tickets | |
| 2016-17 Information | Illinois Record Book | Illinois Game Notes | Fort Wayne |
Illinois...
...ranks second in the nation in free throw percentage (.836)
...players are all shooting 70% or better from the FT line
...is third in the Big Ten with 4.7 blocks per game
...sophomore Alex Wittinger is leading the B1G in 5 categories
...is returning five players from last year's squad
...freshman are combining for almost 50% of Illinois' scoring
...is set to face 19 opponents coming off of postseason appearances
...is closing out a month-long home stretch on Friday
QUICK HITS
THE COACHES
ILLINOIS: Matt Bollant // 54-76 at Illinois (5th year) // 336-131 overall (15th year)
FORT WAYNE: Niecee Nelson // 1-6 at Wake Forest (1st year) // 1-6 overall (1st year)
SERIES NOTES vs. FORT WAYNE
Series Record: Illinois leads, 4-0
Last Meeting: Nov. 14, 2014 // Illinois 70, Fort Wayne 63 // Champaign, Ill.
Series Streak: W-4
Series in Champaign: Illinois leads, 3-0
Series at Fort Wayne: Illinois leads, 1-0
Bollant vs. Fort Wayne: 1-0
• FRIDAY'S GAME: Illinois has a quick turnaround as the Orange and Blue host Fort Wayne on Friday at 7 p.m. The game will mark Dad & Daughter Date Night, featuring a $15 ticket combo which includes two tickets, two $5 concessions vouchers and a Fighting Illini Prize Pack. The game will be streamed live on BTN Plus, and will air on WDWS AM-1400.
• COMING UP: The Illini will head out for their first road trip of the season on Sunday, facing George Washington in an 11 a.m. CT tip-off. Illinois is 0-1 against the Colonials, as the two teams met for the first time last season. The game marked the first career start for both Alex Wittinger and Jaelyne Kirkpatrick.
• LAST TIME OUT: Brandi Beasley put up a career-high 14 points and 11 rebounds to earn her first career double-double Wednesday night, and sophomore Alex Wittinger posted her fifth consecutive double-double in Illinois' 79-70 loss to Wake Forest. The Orange and Blue outrebounded the Demon Deacons 43-31 and five Illini contributed double-digit scoring numbers for the second time this season, but it wasn't enough to overcome Wake Forest. Kennedy Cattenhead earned her first start of the year, leading the team with a season-high 16 points.
• SCOUTING FORT WAYNE: The Fort Wayne Mastodons are 1-6 on the season, earning their only victory over Defiance in early November. The team will come to Champaign after a 66-55 loss at Kent State. De'Jour Young leads the Mastodons in scoring so far this season, averaging 11.7 points per game. She also grabs 3.4 rebounds per game, good for second on the squad. Fort Wayne is allowing its opponents more than 73 points per game, and averages more than 16 turnovers each contest. The Mastodons are shooting 40-percent from the floor as a team this year, in addition to knocking down almost 37-percent of shots from distance.
#Illini on the Run
Illinois has seen several different trends pop up over the last few games.
• Alex Wittinger has recorded a double-double in five straight games. That number leads the Big Ten and is fourth in the nation.
• Wittinger is averaging almost three blocks per game this season, and recorded all of Illinois' rejections against Wake Forest. She has led the team in blocked shots in five games.
• As a team, the Illini have made all but two free throws in each of the last five games. Illinois leads the Big Ten with a 83.6 free throw percentage, which is good for second in the nation.
• Freshman Brandi Beasley and sophomore Jaelyne Kirkpatrick have each dished two or more assists in each of Illinois' last five games.
• Illinois has had two or more players score in double-figures in four games this season, including a season-high five play- ers in double-digits against both USC Upstate and Wake Forest. The performance against USC Upstate marks the first time five players have registered double-figures in a single game since Jan. 20, 2016 against Indiana.
• Illinois made a season-high eight three-pointers against USC Upstate this season. The Illini have knocked down four or more treys in all but one game this year.
• Illinois leads the Big Ten in three-point field goal percentage defense so far this year. The Illini have held four opponents to less than 27-percent shooting from beyond the arc, and allowed just one triple from Mercer in the game.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE CAUSING NO TROUBLE
Sophomore Alex Wittinger is currently riding a league-leading streak of five consecutive double-doubles. That streak currently matches Chatrice White's five consecutive double-double streak from last season, which marked the first time an Illini had recorded five in a row since Karisma Penn posted six in a row during the 2010-11 campaign. Prior to that, Jenna Smith recorded seven-straight double-doubles at the end of the 2009-10 season.
CHART TOPPING
The Illini can be spotted at the top of the list in several categories this season, individually and as a team.
Category National Rank B1G Rank
Blocked Shots (28) 65th 4th
Blocks per game (4.7) 64th 3rd
Fewest Fouls (97) 135th 4th
Fewest Turnovers (97) 135th 5th
FG Percentage Defense (.345) 50th 3rd
Free Throw Percentage (.836) 2nd 1st
Rebound Margin (7.3) 63rd 5th
Rebounds per game (43.17) 69th 6th
Scoring Defense (.607) 116th 5th
3FG Defense (.243) 25th 1st
Blocked Shots (17) 20th 1st
Blocks per game (2.83) 20th 1st
Double Doubles (5) 4th 1st
Rebounds (71) 18th 2nd
Rebounds per game (11.8) 10th 1st
Off. Rebs. per game (5) 19th 2nd
Def. Rebs. per game (7) 22nd 1st
Free Throw Percentage (.864) 75th 2nd
ON THE BOARDS
Illinois has been aggressive on the glass as of late, as the squad has grabbed 91 offensive rebounds through the first six games. At this point last season, the Illini had tallied just 69 offensive boards. Illinois tallied a season-high 20 offensive rebounds against Wake Forest, the most for an Illini team since grabbing 21 against Rutgers on Feb. 21, 2015.
The Illini are averaging more than 43 rebounds per game overall this season, good for sixth in the Big Ten.
FIGHTING FRESHMEN
As expected, Illinois has seen major contributions from its freshmen to open the season. Brandi Beasley and Ali Andrews both earned their first career starts against Marshall, and Petra Holešínská earned the start against UAPB. Sarah Overcash and Courtney Joens have also made contributions on the court for the Illini so far.
The Illini freshmen are accounting for 27.8 points per game so far this year, good for almost 50-percent of Illinois' scoring, led by Beasley who averages 8.0 points per game.
Illinois has seen three freshmen score in double-digits in two games this season, against both Wake Forest and USC Upstate. Prior to this year, the last time an Illinois squad saw that kind of production from its freshmen was Nov. 17, 2013 in a 112-28 victory over Alcorn State.
WITTINGER'S HOT START
Illinois' leading scorer, sophomore Alex Wittinger, is off to a strong start to the season. She leads the Illini averaging 15.0 points per game, and has been Illinois' leading scorer in three games. She has posted a Big Ten leading five-straight double-doubles so far this year, with nine career double-doubles. Wittinger has recorded a double-double in three of her four career 20+ point games and was just one rebound away from a double-double when she dropped 21 points at No. 5 Ohio State last season (2/21/16).
Wittinger has recorded multiple blocks in five of Illinois' games this season, and has carded multiple blocks and multiple steals in two of those five matchups. She has posted multiple blocks and multiple steals in four career games.
Wittinger leads the Big Ten in several categories this year, including double-doubles (5), blocked shots (17), blocked shots per game (2.83), defensive rebounds per game (7) and rebounds per game (11.8).
D-FENSE
Illinois held both Marshall and UAPB to less than 30-percent shooting from the floor to start the season. The Illini have not held consecutive opponents to less than 30-percent shooting since the 2013-14 season when the Orange and Blue held Alcorn State to 15.3-percent shooting (11/17/13) and followed that up by holding SIU to 22.6-percent from the floor (11/21/13).
The Illini have held three opponents to less than 30-percent shooting from the floor this year, including Mercer who shot just 28.8-percent. The last time an Illinois team held three or more opponents to worse than 30-percent shooting was during the 2009-10 campaign when the Orange and Blue held eight opponents shot below 30-percent.
Illinois held just one opponent to less than 30-percent shooting last season (Tennessee State, .221), and two opponents to less than 30-percent during the 2014-15 campaign (Southern, .269; Murray State, .275).
The Illini are holding opponents to just 34.5-percent shooting this season, which ranks third in the Big Ten and ranks 50th in the country.
PERFECT START
Three Illini are perfect from the foul line so far this season in Jaelyne Kirkpatrick (6-for-6), Cierra Rice (5-for-5), and Courtney Joens (4-for-4). Three Illini have only missed one shot as Petra Holešínská is 7-for-8, Brandi Beasley is 3-for-4 (.750) and Sarah Overcash is 3-for-4. Ali Andrews is 19-for-22 (.864) from the line this year, which ranks second in the Big Ten.
The Illini were on fire from the free throw line against UAPB, making 18-of-19 shots good for 94.7 percent shooting. The last time the Illini shot better than that from the charity stripe was Jan. 3, 2014 against Wisconsin, going 4-for-4. The Illini made 21-of-22 attempts (95.5-percent) at Wisconsin (2/14/08). The Orange and Blue have shot 85-percent or better in four games this season. Illinois leads the Big Ten with its .836 free throw shooting percentage, a number that sits second in the nation as well.
ILLINI OFF THE BENCH
Illinois has seen impressive productions from it's players off the bench so far this year. Redshirt junior Kennedy Cattenhead started the trend, coming off the bench to score 10 points in Illinois' season opener against Marshall. So far the Illini have seen double-digit production from at least one player off the pine in five of six contests.
Illinois' bench is outscoring opponents by 7.5 points per game this year, averaging 18.2 points per game. Freshman Petra Holešínská is leading that charge, averaging 12 points per game when coming off the pine.
HOLEŠÍNSKÁ'S CAREER DAY
Illini freshman Petra Holešínská had a breakout performance against Memphis, contributing 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 3-for-6 from three-point range, in a season-high 23 minutes. Holešínská recorded more points in the first half against Memphis (13) than she did in her first two games combined (8). She also grabbed a career-best four steals in the contest.
RICE'S RETURN
Sophomore Cierra Rice returned this season after being sidelined just before Big Ten play last year. Rice was off to a strong start last year as she had record two 20-point games in just 10 appearances. Rice averaged 13.6 points per game, dished 24 assists and swiped 11 steals last year. She played a career-high 40 minutes in her 2016-17 debut, contributing five points, four rebounds, an assist and two steals.
She put up double-figures in Illinois' victory over UAPB, knocking down nine of her 11 points in the fourth quarter to lift Illinois to victory. She also grabbed six rebounds and dished an assist in the matchup. Rice's return was short-lived, however, as she suffered a foot injury against Memphis that currently has her sidelined.
MCCONNELL's SENIOR SEASON
Senior Ashley McConnell is Illinois' only senior this season. In her time wearing the Orange and Blue, McConnell has made 67 appearances and earned eight starts. She has dished 37 assists and grabbed 24 steals while scoring 102 points.
WITTINGER'S WAYS
Now in her sophomore season, Alex Wittinger had quite the freshman debut. The Delano, Minnesota, native closed the season among Big Ten leaders for her 3.3 offensive rebounds and her 1.8 blocks per game. Wittinger was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice last season, and was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team following the year. Wittinger grabbed 193 rebounds last season, good for fifth all-time among Illinois freshmen, and her 50 rejections rank third on Illinois' all-time freshman records list. Wittinger averaged 10 points and 6.9 rebounds per game last season, scoring a career-high 27 points and grabbing a personal-best 15 rebounds at Minnesota. She posted four double-doubles on the season, and is looking to improve on those numbers this year.
EXHIBITION RECAP
Several Illini saw their first action in the State Farm Center as freshmen Ali Andrews and Brandi Beasley both earned spots among the starting lineup. It was a young group as the freshmen were joined in the lineup by sophomores Alex Wittinger, Jaelyne Kirkpatrick and Cierra Rice. Freshmen Petra Holešínská, Sarah Overcash and Courtney Joens also made their first appearances for the Illini in a 66-60 loss to Drury University. Wittinger was in double-figures before the end of the game as she put up 15 points and 13 rebounds before the final period. She also finished with two blocks and three steals. Beasley totaled 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Andrews was also in double-figures, racking up 13 points. She added two blocks and three steals to her line. Rice tallied 10 points in her return for the Illini, and Kirkpatrick finished with eight points and four assists.
NEW LOOK FOR THE ILLINI
Coming off of a 9-21 season in 2015-16, the 2016-17 Illini squad will have a new look as the team welcomes six new players in Ali Andrews, Brandi Beasley, Petra Holešínská, Courtney Joens, Cydnee Kinslow and Sarah Overcash. Senior Ashley McConnell and redshirt junior Kennedy Cattenhead will look to lead the young squad, also composed of sophomores Jaelyne Kirkpatrick, Cierra Rice and Alex Wittinger.
CATTENHEAD STEPPING UP
Redshirt junior Kennedy Cattenhead will look to continue her improvements from last season. After averaging just 1.1 points per game in her freshman year, Cattenhead showed major improvements last season. She averaged almost seven points per game and earned 27 starts for the Orange and Blue. Cattenhead was an important asset for the Illini as she also recorded 28 steals. After recording just seven assists in her freshman year, Cattenhead dished out 57 dimes last year.
BTN APPEARANCES
The Big Ten Conference announced game times and television information for the conference portion of the 2016-17 women's basketball season on Monday, Sept. 26, completing Illinois' 2016-17 schedule. All of Illinois' Big Ten contests will be available on the Big Ten Network or BTN Plus. Illinois will open conference play live on BTN Wednesday, Dec. 28, against Iowa at 3 p.m. CT at State Farm Center. The Illini will have two other televised home contests: Saturday, Jan. 7 against Rutgers, and Saturday, Feb. 25 against Indiana. Illinois will appear on BTN Plus for the remainder of the conference schedule.
SET FOR A CHALLENGING SCHEDULE
The 2016-17 season will be an exciting one as the Illini are set to face a challenging slate of non-conference opponents before opening conference play in late December. Illinois will face 19 opponents who are coming off of postseason appearances, including 2016 WNIT Champion South Dakota. The Illini will take on three opponents for the first time in program history, beginning with Marshall (Nov. 11). The Orange and Blue also matched up against USC Upstate (Nov. 20) and Mercer (Nov. 22) for the first time. Meeting both teams for just the second time in program history, Illinois will travel to the 2016 Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Champion George Washington (Dec. 4) and WNIT Champion South Dakota (Dec. 7). The nonconference slate will conclude with another set of road games as UI will head to Central Michigan (Dec. 19) and Ohio (Dec. 22) before opening Big Ten play.
Illinois will host a competitive slate of Big Ten opponents this season, including Iowa, (Dec. 28), Rutgers (Jan. 7), Nebraska (Jan. 15) and 2016 Big Ten Tournament Champion, Maryland (Jan. 26). The Orange and Blue will have several road contests during the month of January, including trips to Michigan State (Jan. 1), Iowa (Jan. 11), Minnesota (Jan. 18), Ohio State (Jan. 22) and Penn State (Jan. 29). The squad will return home in the month of February, with back-to-back games against Michigan (Feb. 1) and Purdue (Feb. 5). After a road game at Maryland (Feb. 9), the Illini will host Penn State on Feb. 14. Illinois will conclude regular season travel with games at Northwestern (Feb. 19) and Wisconsin (Feb. 22) before hosting Indiana in the regular season finale on Feb. 25.
BOLLANT SIGNS THREE FOR 2017-18
The Illini signed three highly-ranked recruits to the 2017-18 roster this week. Illinois will welcome the following players to the Illini family next season.
Channise Lewis // 5-8 // G // Miami, Fla. // Miami Country Day School
-Ranked the No. 16 guard in the country and No. 77 overall by ESPN
-Two-time FABC 3A All-State first team honoree
-2016 Miami Herald All-Dade 4A-2A Player of the Year
-Led Miami Country Day to three consecutive Florida Class 3A State Championship titles
-Led her high school to the 2015 Dick's Girls High School Basketball National Championship
-2015-16 USA Today American Family Insurance ALL-USA Florida Girls Basketball Team
-Chose Illinois over Virginia Tech and Purdue, among others
Addaya Moore // 6-0 // G // Granite City, Ill. // Granite City High School
-Led Granite City averaging 19 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game in her junior season
-Earned all-tournament honors at Orchard Farm, Jerseyville and Carrollton
-Chose Illinois over Clemson, Columbia and Marquette, among others
Jnaya Walker // 6-1 // F // Bolingbrook, Ill. // Bolingbrook
-No. 19 ranked forward by ESPN
-2016 IBCA 3A/4A All-State honoree
-Averaged almost 14 points per game and five rebounds for Bolingbrook in her junior year
-Chose Illinois over Nebraska and Wisconsin, among others
