PREVIEW
Opening Tip
The Fighting Illini women's basketball program returns to the court for the final game of a four-game, season-opening home stand. The Illini (2-1) host the UC Riverside Highlanders (2-1) at State Farm Center with tipoff set for 2 p.m. CT.
» The game will be streamed live on B1G+ with Darrin Brown (play-by-play), Scott Sudikoff (analyst), and Karidia Shelby (sideline).
» Mike Koon will call the action for the Illini on the Busey Bank Illini Sports Network (1400 AM / 93.9 FM).
» Streaming audio and live stats are also available at FightingIllini.com.
About UC Riverside
UC Riverside enters Sunday's matchup with a 2-1 mark and riding a two-game winning streak.
» The Highlanders, following a season-opening home loss to California Baptist (62-59) have won at Pacific (75-67) and vs. California Lutheran (79-36).
» The matchup with the Illini is one of just two non-conference games that will take the Highlanders outside of the Golden State ( also Dec. 21 at TCU).
» Senior G Keilanei Cooper and freshman G Jordan Webster rank 1-2 on the team in scoring at 14.7 and 10.3 points per game, respectively.
» Redshirt junior F Daphne Gnago leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 6.6 boards per contest. .
Series vs. UC Riverside
Sunday's matchup marks the first in the series between the Fighting Illini and the Highlanders.
Current Illini vs. the Highlanders
During their time at Arizona State and California, redshirt senior C Eva Rubin and graduate G Sara Anastasieska, respectively, each helped their former teams to non-conference wins over the Highlanders
» In 2019-20 Anastasieska Tallied 17 points in an 84-61 win, hitting 7-of-9 field goals and 3-of-4 three-pointers.
» In 2017-18 as a freshman, Rubin recorded two points and a rebound in just three minutes of a 73-48 victory.
Up Next
The Fighting Illini travel to Daytona, Fla., to compete in the Daytona Beach Invitational, Friday, Nov. 26 and Saturday, Nov. 27.
» The first matchup of the tournament pits the Illini against the defending Atlantic 10 regular-season champion Dayton Flyers (2-1).
» The Illini then face off against a Middle Tennessee State team (3-0) that won both the regular-season and tournament titles in Conference USA last season.
FOLLOW THE ILLINI
For more Fighting Illini women's basketball news, stay tuned to FightingIllini.com and follow @IlliniWBB on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook.
FULL GAME NOTES (PDF)
