University of Illinois
Western Illinois
Illini Set to Face Western Illinois Tuesday
November 20, 2017 | Women's Basketball
| Game 5: Illinois (3-1) vs. Western Illinois (3-1) | |
|---|---|
| When | Tuesday, November 21 // 7 p.m. CT |
| Where |
State Farm Center // Champaign, Ill. |
| Live Links | Watch | Listen | Live Stats |
| Buy Tickets | |
| 2017-18 Information | Illinois Record Book | Illinois Game Notes | WIU Game Notes |
THE COACHES
ILLINOIS: Nancy Fahey // 3-1 at Illinois (1st year) // 740-134 overall (32nd year)
WESTERN ILLINOIS: JD Gravina // 102-88 at WIU (7th year) // 216-149 overall (13th year)
SERIES NOTES vs. WESTERN ILLINOIS
Series Record: Illinois leads, 8-2
Last Meeting: March 15, 2006 // Illinois 58, WIU 37 // Champaign, Ill. (WNIT)
Series Streak: W-5
Series in Champaign: Illinois leads, 6-0
Series in Macomb: Tied, 2-2
Fahey vs. WIU: First Meeting
Illinois is...
...3-1 on the season and in the Nancy Fahey era
...hosting a Toy Drive to benefit Toys for Tots
...undefeated against Western Illinois in Champaign
...hosting WIU for the first time since 2006
...preparing to travel to Albuquerque for three-straight games
...led by Alex Wittinger who is averaging 16 points per game
QUICK HITS
• TUESDAY'S GAME: Illinois will host Western Illinois on Tuesday, at 7 p.m. before heading out to Albuquerque for the New Mexico Thanksgiving Tournament. Tuesday's contest will mark the start of Illinois' Toys for Tots drive.
• COMING UP: The Orange and Blue will travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico for the New Mexico Thanksgiving Tournament, November 24-26. Illinois will play three games in three days, facing UC Irvine, Wichita State and New Mexico.
• LAST TIME OUT: Fighting Illini women's basketball earned a 74-62 victory over the Bradley Braves on Saturday, as four Illini scored in double figures. Sophomore Brandi Beasley led Illinois with 16 points and seven assists, and sophomore Petra Holešínská earned her second career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Illinois held Bradley to just nine fourth-quarter points, and the Orange and Blue defense held the Braves without a point for more than five minutes to close out the game, going on a 13-0 run during that span.
• SCOUTING WESTERN ILLINOIS: The Leathernecks are also 3-1 on the season, coming off of a close loss to Northern Illinois. The Leathernecks welcome back four starters from last season's 26-7 campaign, and the team is coming off of a 2017 Summit League Championship title. Western Illinois is currently led by seniors Morgan Blumer and Emily Clemens. Blumer is averaging 19.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, while Clemens is averaging 16.5 points per game and 10.3 assists per game. She has also racked up 15 steals through four games.
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 740 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.
ILLINI IN THE LEAGUE
Illini sophomore Brandi Beasley was tops among players in the country for her minutes played last season, and she is continuing that trend this year. Beasley ranks 6th in the league for her 34.9 minutes played per game this year. Junior Alex Wittinger ranks second in the Big Ten for her 4.8 offensive boards per game. Wittinger leads the Illini, averaging 9.8 total rebounds per game, which checks in at ninth in the Big Ten. The Delano, Minnesota, native, has netted 30 field goals this season, putting herself at No. three in the Big Ten and No. 6 in the country.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
Illinois is 3-0 at home this season, with wins over Fort Wayne, Chicago State and Bradley. The Illini are outscoring opponents by 12 points per game inside the State Farm Center, with three players averaging double-digit scoring numbers. Alex Wittinger leads the Illini, averaging 14.7 points per game in Champaign, while Brandi Beasley and Ali Andrews are averaging 11 points per home contest. Wittinger is averaging a double-double at home, also grabbing 10 boards per game. The Orange and Blue are shooting 75-percent from the free throw line on Lou Henson Court, highlighted by 80-percent shooting against Bradley, and averaging 11 steals per game. Illinois also forces 17 opponent turnovers at home, averaging more than 18 points per game off of those turnovers.
WITTINGER IN THE RECORD BOOKS
In 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 five rejections through four games 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
6 129 Alex Wittinger 2016-
BYE BYE BRADLEY
• Illinois improved to 3-1 on the season after a back-and-forth battle against the Bradley Braves. Illinois held Bradley to just nine fourth-quarter points, and held the Braves without a point for more than five minutes to close out the game, going on a 13-0 run during that span.
• Illinois scored a season-high 23 points off of Bradley turnovers
• Four Illini scored in double-figures for the first time since February 9, 2017 (#3 Maryland 84, Illinois 59). Brandi Beasley led that charge, posting 16 points and dishing a season-best seven assists.
• Sophomore Petra Holešínská carded her first double-double of the season and the second in her career (11 pts, 10 rbs).
WIN NO. 2
• The Illini earned their second win of the season over Chicago State on Nov. 15, led by Alex Wittinger's double-double (19 pts, 14 rbs). The performance marked her 41st double-figure scoring game and her 15th career double-double.
• On her birthday, sophomore Ali Andrews notched a season-best 15 points and a career-high eight rebounds, four assists and five blocks. She was 6-for-6 from the floor after the first half, including 3-for-3 from distance.
• Sophomore Brandi Beasley matched her career-best with four steals in the first half.
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 had 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.
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.
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.
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.
SENIOR STORIES
The Illini are looking to redshirt senior Kennedy Cattenhead for direction this season as the Bolingbrook, Illinois, native, has appeared in 86 games for the Orange and Blue. Cattenhead has been a staple in the starting lineup for two seasons, and earned the start in all of Illinois' games this season. She will look to continue her leadership both on and off the court.
Senior Alli Ball also brings experience to Illinois' 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 rebounds and two blocks.
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
