Gophers to Host No. 24/24 Illinois on Sunday Afternoon

MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota (8-9, 1-5 B1G) is set for its fourth ranked matchup when No. 24/24 Illinois (14-3, 4-2 B1G) comes to Williams Arena on Sunday. The game is scheduled to tip off at 2 p.m. on B1G+ and can also be heard on the iHeartRadio app or on KFAN+ with Justin Gaard and Lynnette Sjoquist on the call.

ABOUT THE ILLINOIS GAME

Minnesota's matchup with Illinois is the 71st meeting all-time between the two programs. The Gophers have won their last two meetings at Williams Arena against the Fighting Illini. Last season the Gophers defeated the Illini by 33 points with the only current Gopher playing in that game being Maggie Czinano, who played just 1:49 in that game that was played on Feb. 24, 2022.
Minnesota is 31-39 all-time against Illinois.
Illinois' last win at Williams Arena came in 2019, a 66-62 win for the Illini when the Gophers were ranked No. 12 in the nation.
Illinois are winners in seven of their last eight games, with their only loss during that span against No. 3/3 Ohio State in Columbus. Illinois' three losses this season are to the Buckeyes, No. 5/4 Indiana and Delaware (in Daytona Beach).
Illinois is 2-1 against common opponents with the Gophers.
Illinois was not selected in either the media or coaches preseason Big Ten polls.
Makira Cook is Illinois' leading scorer this season at 18.1 points per game and has averaged 21.3 in conference contests. Cook is a first-year Illini after joining the program from Dayton where she was the A-10 Most Improved Player in 2021-22, and was named to Second Team All-Conference along with the All-Tournament Team at the A-10 Championships.
As a team the Illini have the No. 4 ranked offense in the Big Ten (81.3 ppg), which ranks No. 15 in the nation this season. The team is ranked No. 1 in rebound margin in the Big Ten at +10.5.

GOPHER NOTABLES

Last time out the Maroon and Gold lost its fourth straight game, the latest against Rutgers at home. The Gophers were led by Alanna 'Rose' Micheaux with her fifth double double of the season with 17 and 10 while Mallory Heyer scored 18 points and added seven boards. The Gophers led by as much as nine points, and led for nearly 30 minutes, but Rutgers used 44 second half points to overcome a 21-point first half to defeat the Gophers at the Barn.
Alanna 'Rose' Micheaux extended her double figures scoring streak to seven games in the loss to Rutgers. The sophomore has turned up her efficiency during her streak, scoring 15.0 points per game while shooting 54.3 percent (44-of-81) from the floor in that span. She's also averaged 7.1 rebounds per game and 3.6 offensive rebounds in that stretch.
As of Jan. 14, Minnesota's latest starting lineup of Mara Braun, Amaya Battle, Mallory Heyer, Katie Borowicz and Alanna 'Rose' Micheaux, is an average age of 19 years and 5 months. The group consists of three true freshmen, one redshirt freshman and one sophomore. Minnesota is the only Big Ten team to start four freshmen in a game this season (Wisconsin is the only other team to start three). The only other team to start four freshmen in the nation is Navy.
Mallory Heyer has posted double doubles in two of the last three games with her 18 points against Rutgers marking a new Big Ten career high for the rookie from Chaska, Minn. Heyer's four double doubles this season as a freshman are the most since Destiny Pitts had six during her freshman campaign in 2017-18. She's been on a tear in the last three games with an average of 15.3 points per game, 11.0 rebounds per game, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game all while shooting 45.9 percent from the floor.
Through 17 games this season Minnesota continues to prove itself a quality team on the boards with an average rate of 43.4 per game as a team which is No. 1 in the Big Ten conference and No. 19 in the nation. The team has been one of the best on the offensive glass at 14.2 per game, No. 2 in the Big Ten and 44th in the country.
Lindsay Whalen announced on Jan. 6, the signing of center Sophie Hart to the Gophers' program. Hart is a 6-5 graduate of Farmington High School, who played two seasons at NC State, and will join Minnesota with two years of eligibility. Coming out of high school Hart was the No. 64 ranked overall recruit in the class of 2021 and the No. 5 ranked player at her position by ESPN.
Minnesota head coach Lindsay Whalen announced the addition of five student-athletes on Nov. 16, who have signed National Letters of Intent or an Acceptance of Admission to join the Minnesota women's basketball program for the 2023-24 season. Signing NLIs with the Golden Gophers are Kennedy Klick, MyKynnlie Dalan, Ajok Madol and Dominika Paurová while Brynn Senden signed an Acceptance of Admission.

BY THE NUMBERS
8 - Alanna 'Rose' Micheaux secured eight offensive rebounds vs. Rutgers, the most in her career.
13 - Minnesota averages 13.1 second chance points per game this season.
6 - The Gophers have faced Illinois six times when the Illini have been ranked (0-6 in those games).
11 - Mallory Heyer has made at least one three in 11 consecutive games.
63 - This season Minnesota gets nearly 63 percent of its points per game from freshmen or redshirt freshmen.

The University of Minnesota heads back on the road for matchups with Penn State (Jan. 18) and Purdue (Jan. 21). Both games will be available to watch on B1G+ and can be heard on KFAN+ or on the iHeartRadio app.

For more information on the Gophers, continue to check back with GopherSports.com. Keep up with the University of Minnesota women's basketball on Twitter and Instagram (@GopherWBB) and on Facebook, so you do not miss any content during the 2022-23 season.

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Players Mentioned

Amaya Battle

Katie Borowicz

Mara Braun

Maggie Czinano

Mallory Heyer