QUICK HITS
Illinois is...
...3-2 on the season and in the Nancy Fahey era
...set to play three games in three days
...matching up against UC Irvine for the first time in program history
...facing Wichita State & New Mexico for the first time since the 1980s
...averaging 9.2 steals per game
...led in scoring by Alex Wittinger & Brandi Beasley
SERIES NOTES vs. UC IRVINE
Series Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: First Meeting
Series Streak: First Meeting
Series in Champaign: 0-0
Series in Irvine: 0-0
SERIES NOTES vs. WICHITA STATE
Series Record: Tied, 1-1
Last Meeting: 12-10-1983 | WSU 66, ILL 64 | Wichita, Kan.
Series Streak: L-1
Series in Champaign: 0-0
Series in Wichita: Illinois trails, 0-1
SERIES NOTES vs. NEW MEXICO
Series Record: Illinois leads, 2-0
Last Meeting: 1-9-1981 | ILL 84, NM 61 | Wichita, Kan.
Series Streak: W-2
Series in Champaign: 0-0
Series in Albuquerque: Illinois leads, 1-0
• TOURNAMENT TIME: Illinois is set to play three games in three days, beginning the New Mexico Thanksgiving Tournament on Nov. 24 against UC Irvine. The Illini will match up against Wichita State on Nov. 25 and face the home team, New Mexico, on Nov. 26.
• COMING UP: The Orange and Blue return to Champaign for the B1G/ACC Challenge on Nov. 30. The matchup is set for 7 p.m., and will mark the first Three-Point Thursday, with free foam fingers for fans. It will also mark the first day of Illinois' canned food drive benefitting the Eastern Illinois Food Bank.
• LAST TIME OUT: Four Illini scored in double-figures for the second consecutive game on Tuesday night, led by redshirt senior Kennedy Cattenhead who posted 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting inside State Farm Center. The Western Illinois Leathernecks, however, capitalized from the three-point line and took a 77-67 victory back to Macomb. Junior Alex Wittinger carded her second double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds, while sophomores Brandi Beasley and Petra Holešínská also scored in double digits.
• SCOUTING THE TOURNAMENT FIELD: UC Irvine enters the New Mexico Thanksgiving Tournament with a 2-2 record, coming off of a win over Idaho State. The Anteaters are led by Jordan Sanders, who is averaging nine points per game, while four additional players are averaging between eight and nine points per game. Wichita State is 0-4 on the year and coming off of a 68-56 loss to Tennessee. Two players are averaging double-figure scoring numbers, led by Rangie Bessard (15.0 ppg). New Mexico is 4-0 this season, with wins over Western Michigan, Marquette, Northern New Mexico and New Mexico State.
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.
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 nine rejections through five 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
6 133 Alex Wittinger 2016-
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 seventh in the league for her 34.8 minutes played per game this year. Junior Alex Wittinger ranks third in the Big Ten for her 4.4 offensive boards per game and seventh in the league for her 1.8 blocked shots per game. Wittinger leads the Illini, averaging 10.2 total rebounds per game, which checks in at seventh in the Big Ten. The Delano, Minnesota, native, has netted 34 field goals this season, putting herself at No. 5 in the Big Ten and No. 16 in the country. Sophomore Ali Andrews has netted 7-of-15 from distance this season, and her 46.7-percent three-point shooting checks in at No. 7 in the Big Ten.
MOVING UP THE BOARDS
Junior Alex Wittinger is marking her place in history in more than one category, as she is just eight rebounds away from moving into the top-10 on Illinois' career rebounds list. Wittinger leads Illinois with her 74 boards this season, and has racked up 771 in her career so far. That number puts her 11th all-time at Illinois, just behind Illini great, Ashley Berggren (1995-98) who tallied 779. Wittinger needs 32 more rebounds to catch up with Kendra Gantt (1981-85) in the No. 9 spot. Jenna Smith (2006-10) is Illinois' all-time leading rebounder with 1,217 career boards.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
Illinois is 3-1 at home this season, with wins over Fort Wayne, Chicago State and Bradley. The Illini are outscoring opponents by 6.5 points per game inside the State Farm Center, with two players averaging double-digit scoring numbers. Alex Wittinger leads the Illini, averaging 13.5 points per game in Champaign, while Brandi Beasley is averaging 12.5 points per home contest. Wittinger is averaging a double-double at home, also grabbing 10.5 boards per game. The Orange and Blue are shooting 79-percent from the free throw line on Lou Henson Court, highlighted by 92-percent shooting against Western Illinois, and averaging 10 steals per game. Illinois also forces 16 opponent turnovers at home, averaging more than 18 points per game off of those turnovers.
PETRA OFF THE PINE
Sophomore Petra Holešínská leads the Illini off the bench this season, averaging 6.0 points and 4.0 boards per game. She's racked up three steals and knocked down five three-pointers. Sophomore Courtney Joens is also an important contributor off the bench for Illinois as she is averaging almost five points per game on 41-percent shooting. The Illini bench accounts for 19 points per game and averages more than 14 rebounds per contest.
WHAT A RUN
• After starting off to an early deficit against Western Illinois on Tuesday night, the Illini hit back with a 19-0 run in the secon quarter to earn the advantage in the game. Redshirt senior Kennedy Cattenhead contributed 10 straight points during that run, and the Orange and Blue held the Leathernecks without a point for 5:30 in the period.
• Cattenhead was strong in the first half for the second consecutive game. She was 5-for-5 from the field and 1-for-1 from the free throw line against Bradley, and went 6-for-6 in the first half against WIU.
• Four Illini scored in double digits for the second straight game, led by Cattenhead (18).
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
• 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 87 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.
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
