University of Illinois
Florida Gulf Coast
Women's Basketball Opens Road Slate at FGCU Sunday
November 11, 2017 | Women's Basketball
| Game 2: Illinois (1-0) at Florida Gulf Coast (0-0) | |
|---|---|
| When | Sunday, November 12 // 5 p.m. CT |
| Where |
Alico Arena | Fort Myers, Florida |
| Live Links | Watch | Listen | Live Stats |
| Buy Tickets | |
| 2017-18 Information | Illinois Record Book | Illinois Game Notes | FGCU Game Notes |
QUICK HITS
THE COACHES
ILLINOIS: Nancy Fahey // 1-0 at Illinois (1st year) // 738-133 overall (32nd year)
FGCU: Karl Smesko // 404-82 at FGCU (16th year) // 465-109 overall (19th year)
SERIES NOTE vs. FGCU
Series Record: Illinois leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: December 17, 2016 // Illinois 82, FGCU 73 // Champaign, Ill.
Series Streak: W-1
Series in Champaign: Illinois leads, 1-0
Series in Fort Myers: First Meeting
Fahey vs. FGCU: First Meeting
Illinois is...
...1-0 on the season and in the Nancy Fahey era
...opening the road slate at Florida Gulf Coast
...coming off of a 64-50 victory over Fort Wayne
...returning five starters from the 2016-17 campaign
...welcoming five newcomers this season
...set to face 12 opponents coming off of postseason appearances
...hosting Chicago State on Nov. 15
• SUNDAY'S GAME: The Orange and Blue open the road slate on Sunday at Florida Gulf Coast. The Illini and the Eagles tip off at 5 p.m. CT, and it will mark the season opener for FGCU. The game will be livestreamed on ESPN3 and fans can listen in on the Illini Sports Network.
• COMING UP: UI will return to Champaign on Wednesday, Nov. 15 to host Chicago State at 7 p.m. Illini students who check in on the Oskee Rewards app can earn extra points.
• LAST TIME VS. FGCU: Fighting Illini women's basketball used a strong fourth quarter to overcome Florida Gulf Coast, 82-73 last December. Kennedy Cattenhead posted 19 points on the day, scoring 12 of those in the final period. Then a sophomore, Alex Wittinger led the Illini with her second 20-point game of the season, also contributing seven rebounds.
• SCOUTING FGCU: The Eagles will open the 2017-18 campaign on Sunday against Illinois. Receiving votes in the USA Today Preseason Coaches Poll, the team went 26-9 last season, and won the ASUN Championship before advancing to the first round of the NCAA Tournament. FGCU returns eight letterwinners and four starters from last season's squad, including ASUN Preseason Player of the Year, Rosemarie Julien who averaged 11 points per game last year.
A NEW ERA
Illinois opened the Nancy Fahey era of women's basketball on November 10 with a victory over the Fort Wayne Mastodons. A four-time hall of fame inductee, Fahey boasts 738 career victories and led Washington University to five Division III National Championship titles. Fahey was hired as the ninth head women's basketball coach in Illinois history on March 22, 2017.
SENIOR STORIES
The Illini will look to redshirt senior Kennedy Cattenhead for direction this season as the Bolingbrook, Illinois, native, has appeared in 83 games for the Orange and Blue. Cattenhead has been a staple in the starting lineup for two seasons, and earned the start in Illinois' season opener versus Fort Wayne. She will look to continue her leadership both on and off the court.
Senior Alli Ball also brings experience to Illinos' lineup as she transferred from Akron after spending three years playing for the Zips. She appeared in 90 games for Akron, earning 13 starts throughout her career. Ball had quite the debut for Illinois, leading the team with 13 points, seven reounds and two blocks.
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
With five newcomers and 11 underclassmen on the roster this season, the Orange and Blue boast one of the youngest rosters in the Big Ten. The Illini are composed of 73-percent underclassmen on the court, meaning redshirt sophomore or younger, and only Purdue has a larger percentage of young players. The Boilermakers have 10 underclassmen on their 13-person roster (76-percent). The next-youngest squad in the league is Northwestern, who is 66-percent composed of underclassmen.
FIGURES FROM FORT WAYNE
• Head coach Nancy Fahey earned her first victory at Illinois against Fort Wayne on Friday. She is now 28-4 all time in season-opening contests, and is the fifth coach to earn a win in her coaching debut with the Fighting Illini. Illini head coaches are 5-4 all-time in their coaching debuts in the Orange and Blue, and Fahey marks the fourth consecutive Illini head coach to earn a victory in the Illinois debut.
• Illinois swiped 13 steals in the contest, the most for the squad since recording 14 last season against Northwestern (2/19/17).
• With a team-leading 13 points against Fort Wayne, Brandi Beasley has now knocked down double-digit scoring numbers in 13-straight games. Junior Alex Wittinger closed the contest with 12 points, good for her 39th-career double-figure scoring game.
• Ball-ing out. Senior Alli Ball led Illinois in scoring (13), rebounding (7) and blocked shots (2) in her Illini debut.
WITTINGER IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Beginning her junior season, Alex Wittinger has already had quite the career for the Illini. In her two years on the court, the Delano, Minnesota, native racked up 124 blocks and climbed to the No. 6 spot on Illinois' all-time career blocks list. She carded 74 rejections last season to rank second all-time at Illinois and she led the Big Ten with her 2.6 blocked shots per game. Wittinger became just the eighth player in Illinois history to record 100 career blocks on Thursday, Jan. 26, and also set a new single-game record with her eight rejections against Wright State. She has one block through one game this season.
Illinois Career Blocked Shots List
1. 271 Karisma Penn 2009-13
2. 231 Jenna Smith 2006-10
3. 163 Lacey Simpson 2005-10
4. 156 Kendra Gantt 1981-85
5. 135 Jonelle Polk 1983-87
6 125 Alex Wittinger 2016-
BEASLEY'S BREAKOUT YEAR
Sophomore Brandi Beasley returns for the Illini this year, looking to build on a breakout freshman campaign. A 2017 Big Ten All-Freshman Team honoree, Beasley was among team leaders for the 13.6 points per game last season and also checked in at second among all Big Ten freshmen. She dished 120 assists on the season, becoming one of just four freshmen in Illinois history to record 100 dimes in their rookie season. Beasley was among league and national leaders for her 36.2 minutes played per game. She played a full 40 minutes in six contests.
RICE'S RETURNS
Redshirt sophomore Cierra Rice made her first appearance this year after being sidelined by injuries during the past two seasons. Rice played in 10 games her freshman season, recording two 20-point performances. Rice averaged 13.6 points per game, dished 24 assists and swiped 11 steals in her freshman campaign. She made three appearances for the Illini last season, earning three starts. Rice came off the bench against Fort Wayne in Illinois' 2017-18 season opener, tallying four points, seven rebounds and two steals.
HOLEŠÍNSKÁ'S HOT SHOOTING
Sophomore Petra Holešínská returns this season after a hot-shooting freshman campaign. The Vracov, Czech Republic, native was among the top three-point shooters in the Big Ten during her freshman season, leading all the league's freshmen with her 45.6-percent three-point shooting in conference play. Holešínská netted 54 treys during 2016-17, a number that ranks third all-time among Illinois freshmen. She shot 35.5-percent from distance on the season, which ranks fifth all-time on Illinois' freshman records list.
KIRKPATRICK IN CANADA
Junior Jaelyne Kirkpatrick spent her summer traveling the world as she represented her home country on the Canada Development Women's National Team. Kirkpatrick traveled to both Japan and Australia this August for the U24 Women Basketball League Four Nations 2017 Tournament and the Taipei 2017 29th Summer Universiade. Kirkpatrick played in nine games through the two tournaments, averaging 20 minutes per game. She dished 22 assists overall, and averaged four points per game.
ILLINI WBB TICKETS
Illinois women's basketball season and single game tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at FightingIllini.com, in person at the Illinois ticket office at State Farm Center or by phone at 1-866-ILLINI-1. General admission season tickets start at $30 each, while reserved season tickets are available for $75. Single game tickets can be purchased for $5.
ILLINI ON THE NETWORK
Five of Illinois' contests this season will air live on the Big Ten Network, and the remaining conference games will be streamed on BTN Plus. Illinois will have four home games televised live on the network, beginning January 7 against Iowa. Illinois will also host Michigan State on BTN at 8 p.m. on January 16. The Illini will also appear on the Big Ten Network January 28 against Wisconsin and February 4 against Purdue at the State Farm Center. Illinois will also play one road game on BTN, at Michigan on January 20.
All BTN on-air games can be streamed via the web, smartphones, tablets and connected devices on BTN2Go, BTN's digital extension. More than 100 additional games also will be streamed on BTN Plus on BTN2Go, and many of those will air on delay on BTN as part of the Student U initiative.
FAHEY SIGNS THREE FOR 2018-19
Head Coach Nancy Fahey announced her first recruiting class on Nov. 8, welcoming two top-100 recruits in Mackenzie Blazek and Arieal Scott, and a national team player in J-Naya Ephraim.
MACKENZIE BLAZEK | 6-3 | Forward | Franklin, Indiana | Whiteland Community High School
-2017 IBCA Underclass All-State honoree
-2016 IBCA Underclass Large School All-State honoree
-Ranked No. 90 overall by ESPN Hoopgurlz
-Daily Journal 2016-17 Player of the Year
-Averaged 18 points and 13.4 rebounds per game for Whiteland last season
J-NAYA EPHRAIM | 5-9 | Guard | St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands | Southern Durham High School
- Averaged 16.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game for Southern Durham last season and tallied 16 double-doubles
- Represented the Virgin Islands on both the U16 and U17 National Teams at the FIBA World University Games (2013-15)
- NCBCA 2017 First Team All-District
-2017 Big Eight Conference Player of the Year
- Chose Illinois over Temple and James Madison
ARIEAL SCOTT | 5-9 | Guard | Urbana, Illinois | Urbana High School
-2016 IBCA First Team 1A/2A All-State
-No. 39-ranked recruit in the country according to Prospects Nation
-Ranked among the top 100 players in the country by ESPN Hoopgurlz
-Two-time News Gazette All-Area First Team honoree
-Chose Illinois over Missouri, USC and Washington, among others
