University of Minnesota Athletics
Game Preview: Minnesota at Illinois
2/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
| Minnesota (17-5, 6-4 B1G) at Illinois (11-11, 2-8 B1G) | |
| Date / Time | Thursday, February 5 | 8 p.m. |
| Location | Champaign, Ill. (State Farm Center) |
| TV | BTN Play-by-Play: Lisa Byington | Analyst: Brian Agler |
| Radio | KBEM Jazz 88.5 FM Play-by-Play: Corbu Stathes | Analyst: Lynnette Sjoquist |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Illinois |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Illinois |
| Social Media | @GophersWBB | Facebook |
Feb. 4, 2015
MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota (17-5, 6-4) women's basketball team concludes its two-game roadswing Thursday when it faces Illinois in an 8 p.m. contest at the State Farm Center. The game will be broadcast live on BTN with Lisa Byington and Brian Agler on the call.
Fans can listen to the action live on KBEM Jazz 88.5 FM, while live stats can be found on Gophersports.com and live updates will be provided on Minnesota's official Twitter page - @GophersWBB.
The Gophers enter Thursday's contest ranking sixth in Big Ten standings with a 6-4 league record and a 17-5 overall mark following their loss at Northwestern on Sunday. Despite the loss, Minnesota is still one of just four Big Ten teams with 17 or more wins on the year, joining No. 5/5 Maryland, No. 16/17 Iowa and No. 19/18 Nebraska on the list.
Coming off a big week in which she was named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week, Amanda Zahui B. enters the game against the Fighting Illini needing just six blocks to become Minnesota's all-time leader in the category and just 105 points to become the 22nd Gopher in program history to join the 1,000 point club. With 86 blocks on the year, she is closing in on the Maroon and Gold single-season blocks record, which she set with 105 blocks last season, and is just 54 rebounds away from moving into Minnesota career top-10.
Zahui B. has been a main reason for the Gophers' success this season, along with senior forward Shae Kelley, as the duo makes up one of the Big Ten's top front-court threats. The pair have combined to score 44 percent of Minnesota's total points this season and account for 47 percent of the team's rebounding totals.
Minnesota is 8-1 on the year and 5-0 in Big Ten play when Kelley leads the team in scoring. In the five league wins in which Kelley paced the Gophers in scoring, she averaged 21.0 points, 9.8 rebounds and posted a .557 field goal percentage.
The Fighting Illini host the Gophers Thursday night ranking 13th in Big Ten standings with a 2-8 league record, an 11-11 overall mark and have lost seven-straight games. Six of Illinois' losses have come without the help of the team's leading scorer, Ivory Crawford, who missed six games with a knee injury, before returning to the Fighting Illini lineup Sunday in their loss against Wisconsin.
The Gophers are 25-35 all-time against Illinois after picking up a 66-61 victory in the team' lone meeting last season at Williams Arena on Feb. 9. Zahui B. and Rachel Banham combined for 47 points in the win, with Zahui B. breaking the single-season blocks record in the contest. The last time the Maroon and Gold won in Champaign was on Jan. 3, 2009.
Following Thursday's game, Minnesota will return to Minneapolis to host Michigan State at Williams Arena on Sunday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. for its Kay Yow Breast Cancer Awareness and National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
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