ILLINOIS (4-5, 0-1 B1G) vs. BUTLER (0-9, 0-2 Big East)
Date | Time	Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021 | 2 p.m. CT
Location	State Farm Center | Champaign, Ill.
Watch	B1G+
Radio	Busey Bank Illini Sports Network | Listen
Live Stats	Sidearm Stats
Printable Notes	Illinois
Butler	ButlerSports.com
Shop	Online Store
Social Media	@IlliniWBB  | #Illini | @IlliniWBB  | Facebook | YouTube

PREVIEW

Opening Tip
Fighting Illini women's basketball begins its final stretch of three non-conference matchups with a home contest vs. the Butler Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon at State Farm Center.
» Tipoff between the Fighting Illini (4-5, 0-1 B1G) and the Bulldogs (0-8, 0-2 Big East) is set for 2 p.m. CT.
» The game will be streamed live on B1G+ with Will Haliday (play-by-play), Anthony Pasquale (analyst), and Katie Underwood (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 is also available at FightingIllini.com.

About the Illini
Illinois enters Sunday's matchup vs. Butler with an overall record of 4-5, and are coming off of a road loss at Michigan State in their Big Ten opener on Thursday evening at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich. 
» The Illini are 4-2 at home, most recently coming off of a home win over Eastern Kentucky (71-57) at State Farm Center on Sunday, Dec. 5. 
» The team is 4-2 at State Farm Center, including a 71-57 win in their most recent home game vs. Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 5.  
» Offensively, the Illini have opened the season with an improved scoring average from last season. Through nine games, the Illini are averaging 65.2 points per game, an improvement of nearly six points per game over last year's season average of 59.6 ppg. 
» Illinois enter Sunday's matchup vs. Butler with a 4-0 mark in games in which the Illini offense scores at least 70 points. 
» Leading scorer, sophomore G Aaliyah Nye, is averaging 13.2 ppg, an improvement of more than 5 points per game from her freshman campaign (8.1 ppg). 
» Behind Nye, the Illini's offensive attack has been balanced with eight other players tallying at least one double-digit scoring game so far this season, and four others - Jada Peebles (9.6), De'Myla Brown (8.2), Adalia McKenzie (7.6), and Jayla Oden (7.0) - entering action vs. Butler averaging better than 7.0 ppg.  
» Sophomore F Kendall Bostic  averages a team-leading 11.1 rebounds per game, first in the Big Ten Conference and 17th nationally. 

About Butler
Butler enters Sunday's game with an overall record of 0-9, including a mark of 0-2 to start Big East play. The Bulldogs are coming off of a 100-96 (4OT) loss to the University of Denver on Friday evening at Hinkle Fieldhouse. 
» BU is 0-3 away from home this season with an 80-47 loss at IUPUI on Nov. 28, followed by a pair of Big East road losses at DePaul (101-64) on Dec 3, and at Marquette (59-45) on Dec. 5. 
» The Bulldogs opened the season with an 86-63 home loss to then-No. 8 Indiana on Nov. 10. The Illini will face the Hoosiers twice in Big Ten Play. Both programs have suffered non-conference setbacks to SIUE this season, with BU falling 87-74 on Nov. 23. 
» Celena Taborn, a 6-3 graduate transfer from Furman, leads the Bulldogs in scoring (14.2 ppg) while shooting 73.3 percent from the field. She has recorded double-doubles in each of BU's last two games, posting 14 points and 10 rebounds at Marquette, and exploding for 33 points and another 10 boards vs. Denver. 
» Redshirt sophomore G Tenley Dowell ranks just ahead of Taborn as the Bulldogs leading rebounder at 4.8 rebounds per contest. Dowell started the team's first five games but has come off the bench in each of their last four contests.

Series vs. Butler
Sunday's matchup vs. Butler marks the fourth in the series between the Illini and the Bulldogs. 
» Illinois leads the all-time series, 2-1. 
» The Fighting Illini are 2-0 vs. Butler in games played in Champaign, winning the initial matchup 94-62 in on Dec. 14, 1996, and most recently downing the Bulldogs in a home game, 65-47, on Nov. 12, 2006. 
» Butler won the second matchup in the series, 81-65, on a neutral court at a tournament hosted by the University of San Diego on Nov. 27, 1998. 

Up Next
The Fighting Illini face their final road, non-conference matchup of the season, traveling to Carbondale, Ill., for a Sunday afternoon matchup at Southern Illinois. 
» Tipoff between the Illini and the host Salukis is set for 2 p.m. CT from SIU's Banterra Center. 
» SIU is 2-3 to start the season, including a 59-49 loss at then-No. 15 Tennessee in the regular-season opener. 
» Prior to next Sunday's matchup with the Illini, the Salukis are scheduled to host Quincy (Dec. 12), followed by a pair of road games at UT Martin (Dec. 15) and at Middle Tennessee (Dec. 17).

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)