The Illinois women’s basketball team will play its first away game of the 2021-2022 campaign against the Dayton Flyers. This matchup is a part of the Daytona Beach Invitational in Daytona, Florida, a tournament which features eight Division I women’s basketball teams.

The Illini come into this matchup with a 3-1 record after winning their last game 86-82 versus the UC Riverside Highlanders. Jada Peebles led the offensive effort for Illinois with 17 points, and Aaliyah Nye poured in five of her six three-point attempts to give the home team their third win of the year.

Head coach Nancy Fahey was happy with the team’s solid performance, and she noticed an increase in her players’ intensity throughout the first four games. 

“These guys have been working hard, but they started looking for shots,” Fahey said. “We knew (UC Riverside) were going to put a lot of pressure on us, but we were much more aggressive today.”

Dayton is 4-1 on the season after winning games against Alabama A&M, Toledo, Purdue and Mississippi State. The Flyers dropped an early season matchup against Duke, however, they are the defending Atlantic 10 regular-season champions.

Graduate guard Erin Whalen is the main contributor for the Flyers, leading their team in both points (15.8 ppg) and rebounds (7.2 rpg). Along with Whalen, graduate guard Araion Bradshaw is the reigning Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year for Dayton.

This game will surely be the Illini’s toughest test so far and will test the team’s depth as they kick off their road campaign. It will also be the fourth time the two teams have met before, with the last matchup occurring at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic in 2011, where Dayton was victorious 80-66.

The game tipoff will be streamed at 1:15 p.m. on FloHoops.com with Corey Brooks and Jennifer George providing the commentary. Streaming audio is also available via FightingIllini.com.

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