2016–17 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team

2016–17 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record9–22 (3–13 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • LaKale Malone
  • Tianna Kirkland
  • Jody Martinez
Home arenaState Farm Center
Seasons
2016–17 Big Ten women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 4 Maryland† 15 – 1   .938 32 – 3   .914
No. 11 Ohio State* 15 – 1   .938 28 – 7   .800
Michigan 11 – 5   .688 28 – 9   .757
Indiana 10 – 6   .625 23 – 11   .676
Purdue 10 – 6   .625 23 – 13   .639
Michigan State 9 – 7   .563 21 – 12   .636
Penn State 9 – 7   .563 21 – 11   .656
Northwestern 8 – 8   .500 20 – 11   .645
Iowa 8 – 8   .500 20 – 14   .588
Minnesota 5 – 11   .313 15 – 16   .484
Illinois 3 – 13   .188 9 – 22   .290
Wisconsin 3 – 13   .188 9 – 22   .290
Nebraska 3 – 13   .188 7 – 22   .241
Rutgers 3 – 13   .188 6 – 24   .200
† 2017 Big Ten tournament winner
* Tournament #1 seed
Rankings from AP poll

The 2016–17 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team represented University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Fighting Illini, led by fifth-year head coach Matt Bollant, played their home games at the State Farm Center as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 9–22, 3–13 in Big Ten play to finish in a four-way for 11th place. They advanced to the second round of the Big Ten women's tournament by beating Wisconsin before they lost to Purdue.

On March 14, 2017, head coach Matt Bollant was fired. He finished at Illinois with a five-year record of 61–94.[1] On March 22, the school hired five-time Division III national champion and two-time Division III coach of the year recipient Nancy Fahey as head coach.[2]

Roster

2016–17 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 Brandi Beasley 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Fr Ridgeway Memphis, TN
G 5 Cierra Rice 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So Grosse Point South Grosse Pointe, MI
F 11 Cydnee Kinslow 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) RS Fr Freedom
Pepperdine 		Oakley, CA
G 12 Ashley McConnell 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Sr Fremd Palatine, IL
G 13 Peca Holešínská 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Fr Sportovni Ludvika Danka Vracov, Czech Republic
F 20 Sarah Overcash 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr St. John's College Chevy Chase, MD
G 23 Jaelyne Kirkpatrick 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) So St. Ignatius of Loyola Oakville, ON
G 25 Kennedy Cattenhead 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) RS Jr Bolingbrook Bolingbrook, IL
G 30 Courtney Joens 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Fr Iowa City Iowa City, IA
F 35 Alex Wittinger 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) So Delano Delano, MN
F 50 Ali Andrews 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Huntley Lake in the Hills, IL
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule

[3]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
11/06/2016*
2:00 pm 		Drury L 60–66 
State Farm Center 
Champaign, IL
Non-conference regular season
11/11/2016*
11:00 am 		Marshall L 53–55  0–1
 State Farm Center (969)
Champaign, IL
11/13/2016*
12:00 pm 		Arkansas–Pine Bluff W 70–58  1–1
 State Farm Center (1,180)
Champaign, IL
11/17/2016*
12:00 pm 		Memphis L 54–64  1–2
 State Farm Center (2,358)
Champaign, IL
11/20/2016*
12:00 pm 		USC Upstate W 77–57  2–2
 State Farm Center (1,133)
Champaign, IL
11/22/2016*
7:00 pm 		Mercer L 33–51  2–3
 State Farm Center (1,051)
Champaign, IL
11/30/2016*
7:00 pm 		Wake Forest
ACC–Big Ten Women's Challenge 		L 70–79  2–4
 State Farm Center (1,243)
Champaign, IL
12/02/2016*
7:00 pm 		IPFW W 56–33  3–4
 State Farm Center (1,173)
Champaign, IL
12/04/2016*
1:00 pm 		at George Washington L 56–72  3–5
 Charles E. Smith Center (466)
Washington, D.C.
12/07/2016*
6:00 pm 		at South Dakota L 68–77  3–6
 Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,262)
Vermillion, SD
12/11/2016*
2:00 pm 		Wright State W 76–72  4–6
 State Farm Center (1,238)
Champaign, IL
12/17/2017*
2:00 pm 		Florida Gulf Coast W 82–73  5–6
 State Farm Center (1,051)
Champaign, IL
12/19/2016*
6:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Central Michigan L 52–81  5–7
 McGuirk Arena (1,389)
Mount Pleasant, MI
12/22/2016*
6:00 pm 		at Ohio L 68–80  5–8
 Convocation Center (1,211)
Athens, OH
Big Ten regular season
12/28/2016
3:00 pm, BTN 		Iowa W 70–65  6–8 (1–0)
 State Farm Center (1,584)
Champaign, IL
01/01/2017
2:00 pm 		at Michigan State L 47–71  6–9 (1–1)
 Breslin Center (5,757)
East Lansing, MI
01/07/2017
3:00 pm, BTN 		Rutgers W 78–41  7–9 (2–1)
 State Farm Center (1,482)
Champaign, IL
01/11/2017
7:00 pm 		at Iowa L 58–78  7–10 (2–2)
 Carver–Hawkeye Arena (3,834)
Iowa City, IA
01/15/2017
2:00 pm 		Nebraska W 79–59  8–10 (3–2)
 State Farm Center (2,675)
Champaign, IL
01/18/2017
7:00 pm 		at Minnesota L 50–78  8–11 (3–3)
 Williams Arena (3,009)
Minneapolis, MN
01/22/2017
4:00 pm 		at No. 16 Ohio State L 64–88  8–12 (3–4)
 Value City Arena (5,694)
Columbus, OH
01/26/2017
7:00 pm 		No. 3 Maryland L 49–94  8–13 (3–5)
 State Farm Center (1,126)
Champaign, IL
01/29/2017
1:00 pm 		at Penn State L 66–82  8–14 (3–6)
 Bryce Jordan Center (3,570)
University Park, MD
02/01/2017
7:00 pm 		Michigan L 70–86  8–15 (3–7)
 State Farm Center (1,156)
Champaign, IL
02/05/2017
2:00 pm 		Purdue L 64–72  8–16 (3–8)
 State Farm Center (1,889)
Champaign, IL
02/09/2017
6:00 pm 		at No. 3 Maryland L 59–84  8–17 (3–9)
 Xfinity Center (4,160)
College Park, MD
02/14/2017
7:00 pm 		Penn State L 62–80  8–18 (3–10)
 State Farm Center (1,288)
Champaign, IL
02/19/2017
2:00 pm 		at Northwestern L 53–66  8–19 (3–11)
 Welsh-Ryan Arena (2,233)
Evanston, IL
02/22/2017
7:00 pm 		at Wisconsin L 55–59  8–20 (3–12)
 Kohl Center (3,255)
Madison, WI
02/25/2017
12:00 pm, BTN 		Indiana L 60–74  8–21 (3–13)
 State Farm Center (2,550)
Champaign, IL
Big Ten Women's Tournament
03/01/2017
12:30 pm, BTN 		(12) vs. (13) Nebraska
First Round 		W 79–70  9–21
 Bankers Life Fieldhouse (4,830)
Indianapolis, IN
03/02/2017
1:30 pm, BTN 		(12) vs. (5) Purdue
Second Round 		L 58–72  9–22
 Bankers Life Fieldhouse (3,570)
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Illinois fires Matt Bollant after five seasons". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 14, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  2. ^ "Josh Whitman tabs WashU coach Nancy Fahey as new Illini women's basketball coach". Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  3. ^ "2021-22 Women's Basketball Schedule".