Opening Tip
The Fighting Illini women's basketball team begins a stretch of three consecutive (and four of five overall) road games with a Sunday evening matchup at No. 25-ranked Iowa. 
» Tipoff between the Fighting Illini (6-10, 1-4 B1G) and the host Hawkeyes (11-4, 5-1 B1G) is set for 5 p.m. CT at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 
» The game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network with Sloane Martin (play-by-play) and Christy Winters Scott (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 Iowa with an overall record of 6-10 (1-4 B1G), and will be looking for their first win away from State Farm Center this season.
» The Illini are 6-4 at home, most recently coming off of a dominant loss to Purdue on Thursday night. 
» The team is 0-6 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 16 games, the Illini are averaging 66.1 points per game, an improvement of nearly seven points per game over last year's season average of 59.6 ppg. 
» Illinois enter Sunday's game at Iowa with a 5-1 mark in games in which the Illini offense scores at least 70 points. 
» Leading scorer, sophomore G Aaliyah Nye, is averaging 12.1 ppg, an improvement of four points per game from her freshman campaign (8.1 ppg). 
» Nye is joined by junior G De'Myla Brown in double-figures scoring for the Illini, averaging 10.3 points per game. 
» Behind Nye and Brown, the Illini's offensive attack has been balanced with seven other players tallying at least one double-digit scoring game, and two others, Adalia McKenzie (8.9) and Jada Peebles (8.4), entering action vs. Iowa averaging better than 8.0 ppg.  
» Sophomore F Kendall Bostic is the top rebounder in the Big Ten Conference and enters play this weekend ranked fifth nationally at 11.88 rebounds per game. 

About Iowa
No. 25 Iowa enters Sunday's game with an overall record of 11-4 (5-11 B1G), and has won four straight since a 77-69 home loss to Northwestern on Jan. 6. The Hawkeyes most recently captured a 105-49 road win at Minnesota on Thursday.  
» Iowa is 7-2 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season, with losses to Northwestern (69-77) on Jan. 6, and a 74-73 non-conference setback vs. IUPUI on Dec. 21. 
» The Hawkeyes are led by sophomore G Caitlin Clark, a national player of the year candidate who leads the nation in scoring at 26.2 ppg. Clark has recorded back-to-back 30-point triple-doubles and leads the nation with four triple-doubles on the season. Clark also leads the Hawkeyes in rebounding (8.5 rpg), assists (115), three-pointers (31), and free-throw percentage (.904). 
» Senior F/C Monika Czinano and junior G/F McKenna Warnock also average double-figures scoring for the Hawkeyes at 20.1 ppg and 12.2 ppg, respectively. 
» Head coach Lisa Bluder is in her 21st season at the helm of the program, and her 37th season overall. She is 450-238 at Iowa and 806-380 overall, joining Illini head coach Nancy Fahey as one of 24 active head coaches across all NCAA Divisions to have coached 1,000+ games.

Series vs. Iowa
Sunday's game at No. 25 Iowa marks the 79th in the series between the Illini and the Hawkeyes, and is the only matchup scheduled for this season between the two programs. 
» The series is the fourth-most played in Illinois program history. 
» Illinois trails in the all-time series, 18-60. The Illini are 5-31 in games played in Iowa City, while posting a 12-25 mark in Champaign, and a 1-4 record in neutral-site contests. 
» Iowa won the only matchup last season, capturing a 107-68 win at State Farm Center. 
» Overall, the Hawkeyes have won six consecutive games in the series dating back to Illinois' 70-65 home win on Dec. 28, 2016. 
» The Illini have dropped nine straight road matchups against the Hawkeyes are looking for their fist win in Iowa City since a 74-69 victory on Feb. 15, 2007.

Up Next
The Fighting Illini are scheduled to continue a stretch of three consecutive games (and four of five overall) on the road with a trip to face No. 6/5 Indiana on Thursday Jan. 27 at IU's Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. 
» Tipoff between the Illini and the conference-leading Hoosiers is set for 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT, and the game will be streamed on B1G+. 
» Indiana sits atop the Big Ten Conference standings with a record of 14-2 (6-0 B1G). 
» IU's last two games - vs. Michigan State on Jan. 19 and at Iowa on Jan. 23 - have been postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.

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