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CHICAGO – The Illinois State women's basketball team (0-1) concludes its mini season-opening road trip when the Redbirds take on UIC (1-0) Monday night at the UIC Pavilion, with tipoff slated for 7 p.m.
THE SERIES:
Illinois State and UIC are meeting for the 18th time in program history, with ISU holding a commanding 14-3 lead dating back to March 4, 1977, which was a 85-59 Redbird victory in the AIAW State Tournament. However, the Flames snapped a five-game losing streak in the series last season with a 74-65 victory in Normal (11/23/15), their first-ever victory at ISU. The Redbirds won their last time at the UIC Pavilion, 86-74, Nov. 21, 2012, and the first nine games in the all-time series.
THE COACHES:
Illinois State: Barb Smith (Ohio State, 1986) is in her fourth season as the head coach at Illinois State. Smith is looking to continue to build the program, after quadrupling the team's win total one year ago.
UIC: Regina Miller (Old Dominion, 1984) is in her sixth season as the head coach at UIC (82-75) and led the Flames to the 2014 WBI title. Eight times she has made it to postseason, including two NCAA trips (WIU, UNLV).
ILLINOIS STATE:
The Redbirds were picked to finish eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference. All 12 players saw action in the season opener, with seven playing 19 minutes or more, including freshman Megan Talbot, who came off the bench to play a 32 minutes, sharing team-high honors with senior Taylor Stewart. Junior Hannah Green tallied team highs of 12 points, four rebounds, two blocks and six field goals (on 12 attempts) in her Redbird debut.
UIC:
Picked to finish last in the 10-team Horizon League, the Flames lost four players from last year and welcome six newcomers to this year's team. Eleven players saw action in the season opener, and 10 players scored at least four or more points, nine with six or more, six with eight or more and three with 10 or more, as UIC handled Lake Forest, a Division III school, 84-48.
46TH SEASON OPENER
Illinois State dropped to 21-25 all-time in season openers, after falling at No. 18/16 Arizona State.
1-1 START
Illinois State is looking to start 1-1 for the second year in a row, after dropping its season opener at Bowling Green, 70-52, before bouncing back to defeat Murray State at home, 81-76. Over the last 10 seasons, the Redbirds have only won their second game of the season four times, but they are 1-0 in second games played Nov. 14, which occurred in 2006 when they won at Loyola Chicago, 77-66, when the Ramblers were members of the Horizon League.
REDBIRDS AND FLAMES IN NOVEMBER
Monday's contest will be the seventh time in series history the two schools will play in the 11th month. Illinois State won on the road, 77-55, Nov. 21, 1981 in the first-ever November matchup, which was the fifth meeting between the two sides. The Redbirds are 3-0 on the road all time in November at UIC and have lost only once to the Flames, which came last year. Monday's meeting will be the earliest the two schools have ever faced each other.
LAST TIME VS UIC
When the Redbirds last played the Flames, Millie Stevens, Katrina Beck and Viria Livingston all were in the starting lineup, as Illinois State started four freshmen and a senior. Stevens tallied nine points and five rebounds, Beck scored 11 points and grabbed three boards, and Livingston chipped in four points, two steals and a team-best six rebounds. Taylor Stewart came off the bench and netted six points in 25 minutes.
VERSUS THE HORIZON LEAGUE
Illinois State holds a 26-18 record against current members of the Horizon League, with 17 of those games played against UIC. The Redbirds last win over a Horizon League opponent was Nov. 29, 2012 when Illinois State defeated Milwaukee, 75-54, at Redbird Arena. The Panthers return to Normal to play the Redbirds in December.
LONGEST ROAD TRIP
The season-opening trip to Tempe, Arizona, then to Chicago, Illinois, will be Illinois State's longest road trip of the season in terms of days (5) and miles (3,652) roundtrip.
REDBIRDS PICKED EIGHTH IN THE MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE
Illinois State was selected to finish eighth in the 2016-17 Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll, announced Tuesday, Oct. 25 by the league prior to the start of the league's Media Day at the St. Louis City Center Hotel. The poll is compiled from votes by the conference's sports information directors, media and coaches. The Redbirds received 123 points in the poll, after finishing seventh last season when they were predicted to finish last. Drake is the favorite to win the league, as the Bulldogs collected 392 points and 34 out of a possible 40 first-place votes. Northern Iowa is predicted to finish second with 317 points and four first-place votes, while Missouri State was picked right behind the Panthers in third place with 313 points and the final two first-place votes. Southern Illinois (306), Wichita State (248), Indiana State (199) and Bradley (141) fill out slots four through seven. Completing the final two spots in the poll after ISU is Evansville (109) and Loyola Chicago (52).
NEEDS REPLACING
Illinois State lost its top-three scorers from a year ago, who combined to average 30.5 points per game, which was 52.4 percent of the team's scoring.
RETURNING REDBIRDS
Sophomores Katrina Beck and Viria Livingston are the squad's top-two returning scorers, with Beck averaging 5.9 points and Livingston 5.5 points per game last season. Livingston led the Redbirds on the glass during her freshman campaign with 6.1 rebounds per game, and she is the top-returning distributor from a year ago with 36 assists, and steals leader with 33. She also set the program record for most offensive rebounds by a freshman with 78, which was good enough for the eighth-best tally in single-season history. Beck, meanwhile, looks to improve upon her team-leading 31 triples from a year ago. The duo also returns with the most starting experience from last season, combining for 47 starts. Each student-athlete played in 28 game, with Livingston starting 25 and averaging 29.1 minutes per game, while Beck started 22 contests and averaged 23.6 minutes per game. Senior Taylor Stewart is the most experienced student-athlete in the program, having played in 88 out of a possible 90 games, including 30 career starts, with four coming last season. She averaged 5.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 21.2 minutes per game to go along with 35 assists, 27 steals and 26 made three's. Sophomore Millie Stevens (3.2 points, 2.8 rebounds) and senior Brechelle Beachum (3.0 points, 1.6 rebounds, 31 steals) also return and add much-needed depth. Both student-athletes made six starts, while Stevens played in 29 games and Beachum all 30.
NEW FACES
Out of the six incoming freshmen, three hail from the state of Illinois: Frannie Corrigan (LaGrange Park, Ill./Lyons Township), Morgan VanHyfte (Annawan, Ill./Annawan) and Megan Talbot (Barrington, Ill./Barrington). Zakiya Beckles (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex), Deja Turner (Tampa, Fla./Plant) and Amaria Allen (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) are the other incoming freshmen. Junior Hannah Green (Santa Clarita, Calif./West Ranch (College of the Canyons)) is a junior college transfer from the state of California. Green will be a junior and averaged 13.9 points, 13.7 rebounds and 6.5 blocks per game, as she led the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) in blocks per game and ranked third in caroms per game.
ONE OF THE YOUNGEST IN THE NATION
With its roster consisting of six freshmen, three sophomores, one junior and only two seniors, the 2016-17 edition of the Redbirds will be one of the youngest teams in the nation.
REST OF THE NONCONFERENCE
The Redbirds will not have to travel far during the nonconference portion of their schedule, after starting the season at Arizona State. ISU plays its next 10 games in their home state, with six taking place inside Redbird Arena against the likes of Valparaiso, Yale, Eastern Illinois, Wisconsin, Milwaukee and George Mason. The Redbirds will have the luxury of only having to travel to UIC, Northern Illinois, Western Illinois and SIUE.
UP NEXT
The Redbirds make their home debut this Saturday, Nov. 19 when they welcome Valparaiso, another Horizon League foe, for a 1 p.m. contest on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
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