Opening Tip
The Fighting Illini women's basketball team returns to the court after an idle week with a Big Ten road game at Penn State on Sunday afternoon.
» Tipoff between the Fighting Illini (6-8, 1-2 B1G) and the host Lady Lions (7-7, 1-3 B1G ) is set for 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT at PSU's Bryce Jordan Center.
» The game will be streamed live on B1G+ with Andrew Destin (play-by-play), Preston Shoemaker (analyst).
» 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 the Illini
Illinois enters Sunday's game at Penn State with an overall record of 6-8 (1-2 B1G), and will be looking for their second consecutive Big Ten win, and their first road win of the season in the matchup vs. the Lady Lions.
» The Illini are 6-3 at home, most recently coming off of a dominant 68-47 victory over Wisconsin on Jan. 9.
» The team is 0-5 away from home, including a pair of neutral-site losses as part of the Daytona Beach Invitational in November.
» Offensively, the Illini have opened the season with an improved scoring average from last season. Through 14 games, the Illini are averaging 65.6 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 at Penn State with a 5-0 mark in games in which the Illini offense scores at least 70 points. » Leading scorer, sophomore G Aaliyah Nye, is averaging 11.8 ppg, an improvement of almost four 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 three others - De'Myla Brown (9.6), Jada Peebles (9.5), and Adalia McKenzie (9.1) entering action vs. PSU averaging better than 9.0 ppg.  
» Sophomore F Kendall Bostic  averages a team-leading 11.93 rebounds per game, first in the Big Ten Conference and seventh in the NCAA. 

About Penn State
Penn State enters Sunday's game with an overall record of 7-7 (1-3 B1G), and is coming off of a 74-57 home loss to No. 11 Michigan on Thursday (Jan. 13). 
» The Lady Lions went 6-4 in non-conference play with home wins over LIU (85-66), Rider (83-69), Delaware State (120-51), St. John's (80-75), Youngstown State (78-58) and Duquesne (68-60), and losses at Clemson (67-64), vs. Iowa State (93-59) vs. Kent State (81-74), and at Boston College (86-69). 
» In Big Ten play PSU opened with a loss at Indiana (70-40) on Dec. 6, followed by a win vs. Rutgers (52-48) on Dec. 9. Most recently, the Lady Lions have suffered back-to-back losses at No. 10 Maryland (106-78) on Jan. 6 and vs. No. 11 Michigan (74-57) on Jan. 13. 
»  Penn State was 5-0 at home this season prior to their loss to Thursday's loss to Michigan. 
» Penn State is led by junior guard Makenna Marisa who leads the team and ranks third in the Big Ten in scoring at 21.36 ppg. Marisa has tallied team-bests in three-pointers (32) and assists (63), while leading the team in three-point shooting (.352) and free-throw percentage (.787). 
» Sophomore F Ali Brigham, a transfer from George Washington, leads the team in rebounding (5.8 rpg), blocks (17), and field-goal percentage (.577), while second to Marisa at 12.2 points per game. 
» Head coach Carolyn Kieger is in her third season at the helm of the PSU program after previously serving as the head coach for five seasons at Marquette (2014-19).

Series vs. Penn State
Sunday's matchup at Penn State marks the 55th in the series between the Illini and the Lady Lions, and is the only matchup scheduled for this season. 
» Illinois trails in the all-time series, 16-38. The Illini are 4-20 in games played at University Park, while posting a 10-12 record in Champaign and a 2-6 mark in neutral-site contests. 
» Penn State escaped with an 80-76 win at State Farm Center in last season's lone matchup between the programs. 
» Illinois won the most recent battle at the Bryce Jordan Center picking up a 70-66 road win on Feb. 9, 2020.

Up Next
The Fighting Illini return home to State Farm Center to host Purdue on Thursday evening, Jan. 20.
» Tipoff between the Illini and the visiting Boilermakers is set for 7 p.m. CT.
» Purdue is 11-5 overall and is off to an 2-3 start to Big Ten play.
» The Boilermakers are scheduled to host No. 6/5 Indiana on Sunday afternoon at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.

Follow The Illini
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