The Matt Bollant era got off to a strong start with a 52-point victory during Illinois women’s basketball’s first exhibition game Oct. 30. In their second and final exhibition Tuesday, the Illini will try to continue their success when they host Concordia University.

Illinois hasn’t played two exhibition games since former head coach Theresa Grentz’s final season in 2006-07. Head coach Bollant said he decided to schedule two exhibitions “to get (the players) believing that this system is the right system for them.”

After Illinois dominated both ends of the court in an 89-37 victory over NAIA opponent Marian University, it shouldn’t take much persuading.

“We just want to win,” redshirt junior Amber Moore said. “We have nothing to lose, so buying into his system is working really well.”

Moore, redshirt junior Kersten Magrum and seniors Adrienne GodBold and Karisma Penn all came in as a part of the No. 3 recruiting class in the nation four years ago. The class did not find success under former head coach Jolette Law’s system, going 39-57 the past three years.

“I’m really glad that we have two exhibitions games,” Moore added. “So we can get a feel of how it is playing under (Bollant’s) system.”

Their new coach stresses a more aggressive defense.

“One thing that Coach has tried to teach us is to be aggressive and pressure the ball and force turnovers, so we’ve been working on that and trying to get better on that,” Moore said.

The Illini certainly made their coach’s wish come true during their defensive smothering of Marian. Illinois forced more turnovers (40) than it allowed points and rebounds (37 apiece).

Bollant preaches aggression in his dribble-motion offense as well.

“I’m proud of getting 39 free throws,” Bollant said. “That’s a lot of free throws for an exhibition game. We were attacking the rim really hard and taking it at people. We say a lot of times the most aggressive team wins, and most of the time, the most aggressive team gets to the foul line as well.”

Illinois shot 64.1 percent from the charity stripe, converting 39 attempts into only 25 points.

“If you shoot 39 free throws, free-throw shooting is going to be really important to your team,” Bollant said. “Obviously, it’s something that we’re going to have to work on and take pride in.”

Penn was one of the main contributors to the poor performance at the foul line. The 6-foot-2 forward went 7-for-13 on free throws, but that was one of the few down spots for the senior. Penn finished the game with 24 points, 16 rebounds, seven steals and two blocks. She was also able to rebound her own miss four times.

Sophomore point guard Alexis Smith jump-started the team in the first start of her collegiate career after playing only 107 minutes last season. She finished with 19 points, five assists and four steals.

Smith and Penn will have to run a different offense Tuesday against Concordia’s zone defense. Bollant said he wants to use Penn’s size and post dominance to break the zone.

In addition to free-throw shooting, one area the Illini may seek improvement in is depth. Illinois only used a seven-player rotation for most of its first exhibition and dressed only eight. Injuries to Kierra Morris and Nia Oden, as well as GodBold’s academic ineligibility, limited the Illini.

Bollant said last week that he expects Oden to be back for the game against Concordia. Oden will provide another post player to the trio of Penn, Magrum and freshman McKenzie Piper.

After Tuesday’s exhibition, the Illini will open their regular season Sunday against Evansville.

“It’s so exciting to know we started off the season so strong,” Smith said. “And I’m excited to see what’s next.”

Johnathan can be reached at [email protected] and @jhett93.