2020-21 ILLINI WOMEN’S BASKETBALL WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES FIGHTINGILLINI.COM @IlliniWBB @IlliniWBB facebook.com/IlliniWBasketball #ILLINI @IlliniAthletics @IlliniAthletics facebook.com/IlliniAthletics Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021 // 1 p.m. CT // Big Ten Network Plus ILLINI WOMEN’S BASKETBALL MEDIA BOX Champaign, Ill. // State Farm Center (15,544) The Illini women’s basketball media box will be updated with information and assets throughout the course of the 2020-21 season. To access the content, including photos, video, and media zoom recordings, visit: uofi.box.com/v/2020-21WBBMedia Pos. No. Name Ht. Yr. GP/GS PPG RPG Other Notes G 0 J-Naya Ephraim 5-9 JR 5/4 8.0 2.6 10 assists Tied career high with 11 points at Nebraska F 1 Nancy Panagiotopoulou 6-3 R-JR 5/0 0.0 0.6 -- Played in 10 straight & 13 of 17 since return from injury ILLINOIS (2-3, 0-2 B1G) IOWA (6-1, 2-1 B1G) F 2 Lyric Robins 5-11 SR 5/1 1.6 1.4 -- 7 pts, 2 rebs in first-career start at Indiana F 3 Solape Amusan 6-1 SO 5/0 5.2 2.4 3 blocks 10.0 pts, 3.5 rebs in last 2 games (at NEB, at IND) G 10 Jeanae Terry 5-11 SO 5/5 9.4 9.2 8 steals Team-most 8 assists, 46 rebounds, and 13 assists TELEVISION | Big Ten Network Plus G 11 Jada Peebles 5-10 SO 5/5 11.6 1.4 12 assists 13.0 ppg in last four contests » Scott Sudikoff (play-by-play) / Scott Beatty (analyst) G 13 Tara O’Malley 5-6 JR 2/0 0.0 0.0 1 steal Logged 6 minutes with 1 steal at Indiana F/C 14 Geovana Lopes 6-3 JR 4/1 5.0 3.0 4 assists First start as an Illini vs. Valparaiso RADIO | Fighting Illini Sports Network F 20 Erika Porter 6-3 FR 1/0 2.0 2.0 1-1 FGs Illini debut with 2 pts, 2 rebs in 6 mins at Indiana » Mike Koon (play-by-play) G 21 Aaliyah McQueen 5-9 FR 4/0 0.0 1.5 -- Tied personal best with 2 rebounds at Nebraska C 22 Eva Rubin 6-5 R-JR 4/4 9.0 5.0 6 blocks Career-highs of 13 pts, 7 rebs and 25 mins at Nebr. » WDWS 1400-AM / fightingIllini.com/watch G 32 Aaliyah Nye 5-11 FR 4/0 5.3 2.3 2 steals Career-highs of 10 pts, 1 ast, 2 stls, 20 mins at Nebr. F 44 Kennedi Myles 6-2 SO 5/5 10.0 8.8 6 steals 15 pts (17th-career double-digit game) at Indiana LIVE STATS » https://fightingillini.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary HEAD COACHES Bold indicates previous game’s starter. ILLINOIS: Nancy Fahey // 32-64 at Illinois (4th year) // 769-197 overall (35th year) ILLINOIS SCHEDULE IOWA: Lisa Bluder // 425-224 at Iowa (21st year) // 781-367 overall (37th year) Date ..........Opponent .............Time/Score SERIES VS. IOWA Nov. 25 ........Indiana State + ..........W, 68-49 Series Record: Iowa leads, 59-18 Last Meeting: Illinois 72, #20 Iowa 108 // Dec. 31, 2019 // Iowa City, Iowa Dec. 2 . Valparaiso + .............L, 59-62 Series Streak: Iowa, W5 Dec. 6 . Omaha + ...............W, 53-50 in Champaign: Iowa leads, 24-12 Dec. 10........at Nebraska * # ...........L, 72-78 in Iowa City: Iowa leads, 31-5 Neutral Site: Iowa leads, 4-1 Dec. 19 . .19/19 Michigan * # ......Postponed Fahey vs Iowa: 0-4 Dec. 22 . .Southern Illinois + ......Postponed Dec. 31........at 20/18 Indiana * + . .L, 79-56 • OPENING TIP: Illinois (2-3, 0-2 B1G) returns home to State Farm Center to host the Iowa Hawkeyes (6-1, 2-1) on Sunday, Jan. 3 .........RV/RV Iowa * + ..........1 p.m. CT Jan. 3. Tipoff between the Illini and the Hawkeyes is set for 1 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed live on Big Ten Network Plus with Scott Sudikoff (play-by-play) and Scott Beatty (analyst). Mike Koon will call the action for the Illini on WDWS Jan. 7 .........17/15 Ohio State * + .....6 p.m. CT 1400 AM. Streaming audio and live stats are also available at FightingIllini.com. Jan. 10 ........at 16/17 Michigan * + ....12 p.m. CT Jan. 14 ........25/RV Michigan State * . .TBD • ABOUT IOWA: Iowa enters Sunday’s game with a 6-1 record, including a 2-1 start to Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes, fol- lowing a Dec. 12 loss at Michigan State (86-82), have won two straight home games vs. Western Illinois (92-65) and Jan. 21 ........at 15/16 Northwestern *........TBD Rutgers (90-84). Iowa also earned an early season home conference win over Wisconsin (85-78) on Dec. 5. The Hawkeyes Jan. 25 ........Nebraska * .................TBD feature one of the most potent offenses in the nation, led by freshman F Caitlin Clark (27.1 ppg), junior F/C Monica Jan. 28 ........Penn State * ................TBD Czinano (20.0) and McKenna Warnock (14.5). Warnock averages a team-most 8.8 rebounds per game, followed by Clark’s 7.0 rpg. Clark, who has already been named the B1G Player and Freshman of the Week three times this season, Jan. 31 ........at Wisconsin * ...............TBD also averages a team-most 6.9 assists per game and recorded a triple-double (13 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists) Feb. 4 .........at 25/RV Michigan State * .....TBD vs. Western Illinois. Through games played Jan. 1, Iowa ranks among the NCAA leaders in several categories including Feb. 7 .........Purdue * ...................TBD No. 6 in scoring offense (90.0 ppg), No. 6 in field-goal percentage (.507), No. 8 in free-throw percentage (81.0), and No. 14 in assists per game (19.1). Feb. 10 ........at Minnesota * ...............TBD Feb. 14 ........20/18 Indiana * ..............TBD • SERIES VS. IOWA: Sunday’s matchup is the 78th th in the series between the Illini and the Hawkeyes. Iowa leads the Feb. 17 ........at 14/14 Maryland *...........TBD all-time series, 59-18, including a 24-12 advantage in games played in Champaign. The Illini are looking to snap a five- game Hawkeyes win streak. The last Illini win the series was Dec. 28, 2016, a 70-65 decision in Champaign. Feb. 20 ........at RV/RV Rutgers * ...........TBD Feb. 25 ........15/16 Northwestern * .........TBD • UP NEXT: Illinois closes out a two-game home stand on Thursday, Jan. 7, hosting No. 17/15-ranked Ohio State. The Buckeyes, off to a 4-0 start, have not played since Dec. 10, a 104-65 win over Miami (Ohio), due to COVID-19-related Feb. 28 ........at Purdue *..................TBD concerns that have caused the cancellation of their game vs. Saint Mary’s (Dec. 15), and the postponement of three Big March 5 or 6....Minnesota * ................TBD Ten Matchups vs. Iowa (Dec. 19), at Maryland (Dec. 23), and vs. Michigan State (Dec. 31). The Buckeyes are scheduled March 9-13 .....Big Ten Tournament ...........TBA to host Penn State on Monday, Jan. 4. Tipoff between the Illini and the Buckeyes is set for 6 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed live on Big Ten Network Plus with Scott Sudikoff (play-by-play) and Emone’ Davis (analyst). Mike Koon will * Big Ten Conference game call the action for the Illini on WDWS 1400 AM. Streaming audio and live stats are also available at FightingIllini.com. + Streamed on Big Ten Network Plus # Televised on Big Ten Network • TERRY TOP REBOUNDER: Fighting Illini sophomore G Jeanae Terry averages a team-leading 9.2 rebounds per game, Home games in BOLD which ranks 74th nationally and third in the Big Ten, overall. Among guards, Terry’s rebounding average is tied for 12th All times Central and subject to change nationally, and first in the Big Ten. And at 5 feet, 11inches, she ranks tied for seventh nationally among players listed shorter than 6 feet tall. Furthermore, Terry is one of just five underclassmen to rank on this short list 1 // FIGHTINGILLINI.COM // @ILLINIWBB // #ILLINI 2020-21 ILLINI WOMEN’S BASKETBALL • THE FAHEY ERA CONTINUES: The Illini enter their fourth season under the direction of head coach Nancy Fahey in 2020-21. QUICK FACTS > In Fahey’s first season, she led the Illini to a 9-5 non-conference 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 UNIVERSITY INFORMATION leading up to league play, with the streak marking the most consecutive victories for the program since the start of the 2015- 16 season. Junior Alex Wittinger garnered All-Big Ten Second Team, and also matched the school record for single-season Location ��������������������������������������������Urbana-Champaign, Ill. offensive rebounds (125). Wittinger earned the program’s second-ever triple double during the 2017-18 campaign, and set a Enrollment. 52,331 new single-game record for blocked shots (11). Nickname . Fighting Illini > In her second season at the helm of the Illini, Fahey’s squad opened the year with a 7-0 record on Lou Henson Court for the Founded ������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1867 first time since the 2006-07 season. The Illini opened the 2018-19 campaign with at 8-3 (.727) in non-conference play, the Colors �������������������������������������������������������������� Orange & Blue best for an Illini squad since starting the 2014-15 campaign with a 9-5 non-conference record (.750). Fahey’s squad improved Affiliation �������������������������������������������������������NCAA Division I statistically in several categories under her leadership. The Illini averaged seven more points per game than in 2017-18, and Conference ����������������������������������������������������������������� Big Ten improved their field goal percentage by more than four percent.