QUICK HITS
THE COACHES
ILLINOIS: Nancy Fahey // 17-26 at Illinois (2nd year) // 754-159 overall (33rd year)
NORTHWESTERN Joe McKeown // 65-116 at Northwestern (11th year) // 676-337 overall (33rd year)
SERIES NOTES vs. NORTHWESTERN
Series Record: Illinois trails, 34-41
Last Meeting: February 18, 2018 | Northwestern 68, Illinois 61 | Evanston, Ill.
Series Streak: L-6
Series in Champaign: Tied, 18-18
Series in Evanston: Illinois trails, 13-21
Fahey vs. Northwestern: 0-2
Illinois...
...is beginning a two-game road stretch at Northwestern
...ranked fourth in the Big Ten for its 46.3-percent shooting this year
...ranks 15th in the nation for its 31 defensive boards per game
...ranks 3rd in the B1G & 12th in the country for its 5.6 blocks per game
...shooting 46.3-percent from the field to rank 23rd in the country
...junior Brandi Beasley is No. 2 in the B1G with 5.7 assists per game
...senior Alex Wittinger ranks 4th in the country for her 34 blocks
...Alex Wittinger ranks fifth in the B1G for her 17.3 points per game
• MONDAY'S GAME: The Orange and Blue will travel North to take on the Wildcats of Northwestern on New Year's Eve. Tipoff in Evanston is set for 2 p.m. on December 31. The game will air live on the Big Ten Network, and fans can listen in on WDWS AM-1400.
• COMING UP: The Illini will continue their road stretch at Minnesota on January 6. The Illini and the Gophers will face off at 3 p.m. in Minneapolis. Fans can tune in to the live stream on BTN Plus or listen in on WDWS AM-1400. UI returns to the State Farm Center on January 9, hosting the Scarlet Knights at 7 p.m.
• LAST TIME OUT: Fighting Illini women's basketball opened Big Ten play, falling to the Indiana Hoosiers in an overtime heartbreaker. The Orange and Blue used a strong third-quarter effort to even the score and pull ahead of visiting Indiana. The Hoosiers fought back to force overtime and earn their first conference victory of the season. Senior Alex Wittinger and junior Brandi Beasley led the Illini with 19 points each, and freshman Mackenzie Blazek grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds on the night. Friday's game marks the first time in program history that an Illini squad has played three overtime contests in one campaign and the second overtime game against the Indiana Hoosiers.
• SCOUTING THE WILDCATS: Northwestern is 7-5 on the season and 0-1 in Big Ten play, coming off of a 45-41 loss to Rutgers in Piscataway. The Wildcats are averaging 68.9 points per game this season to outscore opponents by an average of 11.6 points per game. Four players are averaging more than 10 points per game, led by Lindsey Pulliam's 14.8 points per game. Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah is also among team leaders for her 10.2 points per game, while leading the squad on the glass with her 11.2 boards per game. That number puts her fourth in the Big Ten. Northwestern is among Big Ten leaders (3rd) for its 9.8 steals per game this season, and also for its +4.2 turnover margin (2nd).
The FAHEY ERA CONTINUES
The Illini have opened their second season under the direction of head coach Nancy Fahey. In her first season at Illinois, Fahey coached the Orange and Blue to a 9-5 nonconference record, which marked the best start to the season since Illinois also earned nine non-conference victories in the 2014-15 campaign (9-3). Illinois won four of its last five games leading up to league play, with the streak marking the most consecutive victories for the Orange and Blue since the start of the 2015-16 season. Under Fahey's guidance, Illini junior Alex Wittinger garnered All-Big Ten Second Team honors, and also matched the school record for single-season offensive rebounds (125). Wittinger earned the program's second-ever triple double during the 2017-18 campaign, and set a new single-game record for blocked shots (11).
ONE OF THE GREATS
Illinois head coach Nancy Fahey is in the midst of quite the storied career. She has accumulated 754 career victories, a number that ranks among the top totals in the NCAA. Her win total currently checks in at No. 19 among all NCAA head coaches, a category that's led by Pat Summitt (1098). Fahey's 750 career victories also ranks eighth among current active NCAA Division I head coaches and 12th among all active NCAA head coaches. She has racked up the second-most career victories among active Big Ten head coaches as well. Of active head coaches with more than 700 victories, Fahey's .826 winning percentage ranks second only to Geno Auriemma (.884).
RACING AHEAD
Illinois earned a 32-point victory over the Murray State Racers on Dec. 11, which marked the largest margin of victory for Illinois this season and the widest since earning a 37-point win over Rutgers on January 7, 2017.
Illinois has won three games by 20 or more points this season, and the Orange and Blue have earned four 20+-point victories under head coach Nancy Fahey in the last two seasons.
MAKING THE MARK
Illini senior Alex Wittinger hit several milestones in Illinois' last matchup against Indiana.
• She earned her 100th-career game played for Illinois. With 17 more appearances for Illinois, Wittinger will move into a tie for 11th all time for her career games played.
• Wittinger netted her 600th career field goal in the Orange and Blue and currently has 605 made field goals, to rank eighth all time.
• She tallied three blocked shots in the game to move up one spot into second on Illinois' all-time career blocks list. She's got 233 career rejections.
ON THE BOARDS
The Fighting Illini posted quite the rebounding performance against Valparaiso, outrebounding the Crusaders, 51-23. The 28-rebound margin marks the largest rebounding advantage posted by an Illinois squad since outrebounding Fort Wayne (then IPFW), 51-22, on February 22, 2005. Illinois followed that up with a season-best 56 rebounds against Sacramento State. The Illini have outrebounded three opponents by 10 or more boards this season, and have outrebounded nine of 12 opponents overall.
The Orange and Blue are averaging 42.4 boards per game this season, a number that ranks 61st in the country and sixth in the Big Ten. Maryland leads the league with its 48.8 rebounds per game. The Illini are also ranked among the top teams in the country for their defensive rebounding. The Illini rank third in the Big Ten and 15th in the nation for their 31 defensive rebounds per contest this season.
WHAT A START
The Orange and Blue opened the 2018-19 campaign with an 8-3 start in nonconference play. UI won four consecutive games to start the season, and also went on a four-game winning streak inside the State Farm Center from Dec. 1 to Dec. 15. Illinois' .727 nonconference winning percentage this season marks the highest for an Illini squad since starting the 2014-15 campaign with a 9-5 nonconference record (.750).
ON THE HUNT FOR 1K
Illini junior Brandi Beasley is on the hunt for her 1,000th career point this season. She has racked up 933 career points, and needs just 67 points to reach the millennium mark. Beasley needs to average 3.9 points per game to reach that number during regular season play. Beasley will be the 30th Illini to reach 1,000 career points in Illinois history.
THE BIG 2-0-0
Fighting Illini senior forward Alex Wittinger earned her 200th career block on Nov. 7 in Illinois' season opener against Alabama A&M. Wittinger is just the third Illini in school history to reach the 200 blocked shots mark, and she needs just 42 more blocks to take sole ownership of Illinois' career blocked shots record.
Wittinger has totaled 34 blocks this season, which ranks third in the Big Ten and 4th in the country. She is averaging 2.8 blocks per game this year, which comes in at 9th in the country.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Illini have been strong inside the State Farm this season, starting out with a 7-0 record on Lou Henson Court. The last time an Illinois squad started the year with a 7-0 record at the State Farm Center was the 2006-07 season. Illinois went 7-0 at home to start the 2015-16 campaign, but the first four games were played at Parkland College due to arena renovations.
The Illini are shooting 47-percent from the floor and outscoring opponents by more than 11 points per game inside State Farm Center this season. Alex Wittinger leads the Illini at home, averaging 17.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game this season while also shooting 58-percent from the floor. Ali Andrews is shooting 50-percent from the floor on Lou Henson Court, also knocking down 52-percent of her shots from distance. She's made 15 of her 19 treys at home.
BEASLEY'S BACK
The Illini return junior point guard Brandi Beasley for her junior season in 2018-19. After a standout freshman season, Beasley returned in her sophomore year to appear in all 31 of Illinois' matchups. She was among Illinois scoring leaders last season as she averaged 12.3 points per game. She led Illinois in assists, dishing 3.6 per game and totaling 111 on the year. Beasley has racked up 299 assists so far in her career in the Orange and Blue, and ranks 14th all-time for that number.
Beasley is averaging 5.7 assists per game this year, a number which leads Illinois and ranks among the nation's best. Beasley ranks second in the Big Ten for her dimes, and ranks 28th in the country for those numbers. Beasley's 2.27 assist/turnover ratio ranks fourth in the league as well. Beasley has dished at least one assist in every game of her career thus far (74), and has passed out five or more dimes in 24 contests.
BLOCKING UP THE RECORD BOOKS
Now in her senior season, Alex Wittinger has already had quite the career for the Illini. She tallied 75 rejections through 31 games last season, a number that ranked 18th in the country and is just three shy of Illinois' single season record. She tallied 74 blocks in the 2016-17 season, which sits in the No. 3 single-game spot all-time at Illinois. Wittinger has recorded five or more blocks in five career games and reset her own Illinois single-game blocks record with 11 rejections at Penn State. That number also reset the Bryce Jordan Center blocked shots record.
Wittinger became just the eighth player in Illinois history to record 100 career blocks on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017 and also set a new single-game record with her eight rejections against Wright State during the 2016-17 season. She currently ranks second all-time with her 234 career blocked shots and will chase the No. 1 spot this season. Wittinger is 38 rejections away from the top spot and will need to average 2.2 blocks per game throughout the regular season to own the record.
Illinois Career Blocked Shots List
1. 271 Karisma Penn 2009-13
2. 234 Alex Wittinger 2016-
3. 231 Jenna Smith 2006-10
4. 163 Lacey Simpson 2005-10
5. 156 Kendra Gantt 1981-85
DOUBLE-DOUBLE THE FUN
Senior Alex Wittinger (32 pts, 14 rebs) and junior Brandi Beasley (12 pts, 10 ast) combined for two double-doubles in Illinois' loss to Sacramento State. The two double-doubles in the contest mark the first time the Illini have seen two players record double-doubles since November 30, 2016 in a 76-70 loss to Wake Forest, when both Wittinger and Beasley also combined for a pair of double-doubles. Wittinger finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in that contest, and Beasley tallied 14 points and 11 boards.
WITTINGER ON THE GLASS
Illini senior Alex Wittinger crashed the boards last season as she closed the year tied at No. 9 all-time at Illinois for her 278 total rebounds on the year. Wittinger had a monster performance against Ohio State (Feb. 13, 2018) as she grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds. Her 11 offensive boards in the matchup mark the third-most for an Illini in a single-game in program history, and she is joined in that spot by Jonelle Polk who also grabbed 11 at Indiana in 1987. Wittinger recorded 125 offensive rebounds last season, which matches Illinois' single-season record set by Karisma Penn (2013-13). She currently ranks sixth all-time for her 355 career offensive boards, and is at No. 9 on the all-time total rebounding list (825).
Wittinger is averaging 3.7 offensive boards per game this year, which puts her fourth in the Big Ten. Her 8.5 total rebounds per game rank eighth in the Big Ten.
BENCH POINTS
Illinois' bench has been strong in the nonconference, contributing 33-percent of Illinois' scoring. Freshman Arieal Scott leads the Orange and Blue when coming off the pine, averaging 10.3 points per game. She's among team leaders for her 16 three-pointers on the year as well. Graduate transfer Sarah Shewan is averaging 6.5 points per game off the bench and is among top players off the bench for her 3.3 boards per game. Freshman J-Naya Ephraim leads Illinois on the glass when coming off the pine, grabbing 3.6 rebounds per game.
ANDREWS ON POINT
Illinois junior Ali Andrews is among Illini returners this season. Last season, Andrew's matched Illinois' single-season three-point field goal percentage record with her 41.2-percent shooting from distance (40-97). Andrews recorded a carer-high 26 points against Wichita State at the New Mexico Thanksgiving Tournament last season, highlighted by another career-best six three-pointers (6-of-8) and 81.8-percent shooting from the floor. In her freshman season, Andrews netted 37-of-94 three-pointers. Her 96 career treys made currently rank 10th all-time at Illinois.
THE CENTURY MARK
Illinois posted a season-best 107 points in a loss to Sacramento State in San Luis Obispo, California. Illinois' 107 points mark the fourth-most in a game in Illinois history and the first time since Nov. 17, 2014 that an Illini squad has put up more than 100 points in a game.
OVERTIME EXTRAVAGANZA
The Fighting Illini entered into new territory against Eastern Michigan on Dec. 1, playing their second-consecutive overtime contest. Illinois' pair of games (Clemson, EMU) marks the first time in program history that an llini squad has played back-to-back overtime games. Including this season, Illinois has played two or more overtime games in nine seasons all-time.
The Illini continued to set new trends in December, taking on Indiana in their third overtime matchup of the season. The contest marks the first time in program history that the Orange and Blue have played three extra frames in one season.
NEWCOMERS IN ACTION
All five Illini newcomers made their debut in the Orange and Blue against Alabama A&M, each tallying at least two points. Freshman Arieal Scott led the way with 10 points for the Illini, and freshman J-Naya Ephraim added eight rebounds on the day. Freshman Mackenzie Blazek was also a standout performer as she recorded seven points and three boards.
TRIPLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE
Illini senior Alex Wittinger reached several milestones on January 23, 2018 at Penn State. In addition to recording her 1,000th career point, she carded the second triple-double in Illinois' history with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 11 blocked shots. The last Illini player to record a triple-double was Kim Brombolich on Jan. 22, 1982. Wittinger is just second player in the Big Ten Conference to record a triple-double this season and 17th player in the nation. She recorded the fifth points-rebounds-blocks triple-double in the nation this season. Wittinger is the first Illini in program history to earn a triple-double with points, rebounds and blocked shots.
PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN HONORS
Fighting Illini senior forward Alex Wittinger was honored by the Big Ten Conference as she was named to the 2018-19 Preseason All-Big Ten Team as chosen by both the league's coaches and media. Wittinger led Illinois in several statistical categories last season, including scoring (15.0 ppg.), rebounding (9.0 rpg.), blocked shots (75) and field goal percentage (48.8). She ranked among the top five in the Big Ten for her total rebounding, offensive rebounding and blocked shots numbers.
LISA LESLIE AWARD WATCH LIST
Fighting Illini senior Alex Wittinger was named to the 2019 Lisa Leslie Award Watch List, as announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Named after the three-time All-American and 1994 National Player of the Year, the annual award in its second year recognizes the top centers in women's NCAA Division I college basketball. Wittinger is one of 20 candidates named to the watch list. By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2019 Lisa Leslie Award will be narrowed to just 10. In March, five finalists will be presented to Ms. Leslie and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. The Selection Committee for the Lisa Leslie Award is composed of top women's college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers. Fans will also have the opportunity to vote for their favorite finalist at www.hoophallawards.com. The winner of the 2019 Lisa Leslie Center Award will be revealed on an ESPN platform during the 2019 Women's Final Four in Tampa, Florida.
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Beginning with the 2018-19 season, fans attending events at State Farm Center will be permitted to carry one clear plastic or vinyl bag that does not exceed 12"x6"x12", or one clear drawstring bag not to exceed 12"x12", or one, one-gallon clear plastic or zip-lock bag. A small clutch no larger than 4.5" x 7" may also be carried in addition to one clear bag. Diaper bags (with child) and bags approved for medical needs will be permitted after search by security personnel. All other bags, backpacks, totes and coolers are strictly prohibited. To present a safe event for everyone, jackets may be searched upon entry. If prohibited items are found, the item will be confiscated OR the guest may personally return it to their vehicle or otherwise dispose of the item away from the facility. State Farm Center does not check or otherwise safeguard personal belongings. This bag policy is subject to change. Please check the event details for any additional specific event restrictions.
ILLINI ON THE NETWORK
Three of Illinois' games will air live on the Big Ten Network, and the remaining conference games will be streamed on BTN Plus.The Illini will make their Big Ten Network debut on December 31 at Northwestern, with a tip time set for 2 p.m. CT. Illinois will have two home games televised live on the network, beginning February 4 against Maryland. Illinois will also host Penn State on BTN at 6:30 p.m. February 24. The 2019 Big Ten Tournament will also be aired on the Big Ten Network, with games beginning at 12:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday, March 6 and continuing through Game 12 on Saturday, March 9. The Big Ten Tournament Championship Game will air on ESPN2 on Sunday, March 10 at 5 p.m. CT.
All BTN basketball programming can be streamed via the web, smartphones, tablets and connected devices on BTN2Go and the Fox Sports app.
ILLINI WBB TICKETS
Season and single-game tickets for the 2018-19 Fighting Illini women's basketball season are available now. Fans can renew, upgrade or purchase new season tickets online, at the Illinois ticket office located inside the West Main entrance of State Farm Center, or by phone at 1-866-ILLINI-1. General admission women's basketball season tickets are available for $40 each, while reserved season tickets are available for $75. Single-game general admission, reserved tickets and floor seating are available for as low as $5 per game.
