Penn State heads to Illinois for conference showdown
Penn State Lady Lions (10-14, 1-12 Big Ten) at Illinois Fighting Illini (19-5, 9-4 Big Ten)
Champaign, Illinois; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Big Ten foes Illinois and Penn State will play on Thursday.
The Fighting Illini are 12-2 on their home court. Illinois is ninth in the Big Ten in rebounding averaging 33.8 rebounds. Kendall Bostic paces the Fighting Illini with 11.2 boards.
The Lady Lions are 1-12 in Big Ten play. Penn State ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 17.8 assists per game led by Alli Campbell averaging 4.4.
Illinois scores 72.2 points per game, 1.7 more points than the 70.5 Penn State allows. Penn State scores 13.2 more points per game (72.8) than Illinois allows to opponents (59.6).
The Fighting Illini and Lady Lions meet Thursday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bostic is scoring 15.9 points per game with 11.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists for the Fighting Illini. Genesis Bryant is averaging 15.7 points and 4.4 assists over the last 10 games.
Gracie Merkle is scoring 15.0 points per game and averaging 8.4 rebounds for the Lady Lions. Moriah Murray is averaging 2.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Fighting Illini: 8-2, averaging 70.0 points, 31.9 rebounds, 16.0 assists, 4.4 steals and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 43.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 60.4 points per game.
Lady Lions: 1-9, averaging 66.5 points, 30.8 rebounds, 16.8 assists, 7.9 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 44.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.4 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.