With its 66-48 win over Robert Morris on Tuesday, Illinois basketball has started the season 2-0 for the first time since the 2008-09 season. The Illini will try to keep that streak alive Thursday when they host the Memphis Tigers at State Farm Center.

The Illini have won their first two games with stingy defense and have held both of their opponents under 70 points, a feat the team accomplished just 10 times all of last season. The key to Illinois’ success on the defensive end has been forcing turnovers. The team has forced more than 25 turnovers in both games so far.

Freshman center Chatrice White explained how the Illini caused so many takeaways after the victory against Robert Morris.

“Our energy level and jumping to the ball,” White said. “Just moving around and flying around after all the passes and getting into the pass lanes makes them force bad passes.”

In her first two games in orange and blue, White has been a presence in the paint and had her first career 20-point effort against Robert Morris. Since Illinois has started the season 2-for-35 from the 3-point line, it has relied on White’s post play.

White’s size will continue to be an advantage against the Tigers, whose only player taller than 6’1” is a freshman who has yet to play in a game. Memphis (2-0) relies on its speed and athleticism, which is a change from the two 3-point shooting teams Illinois has faced so far.

Head coach Matt Bollant is confident the Illini can run with the Tigers, though.

“I think we’re athletic enough to get up and down the court,” Bollant said. “You’ve got to keep them in front of you and you’ve got to contain them off the dribble because they’re so quick, so that’s going to be a little bit of a different challenge.”

Bollant was quick to mention Tigers junior guard Ariel Hearn, who averaged 17.8 points and 3.5 assists per game last season on her way to earning all-AAC First Team honors. Hearn leads a pack of seven sophomores and juniors that make up an experienced Memphis squad.

Illinois’ young roster seems to be getting more comfortable with every game, though, and will look to match Memphis’ veteran leadership.

“I think we’re a lot more comfortable now,” White said. “A couple games under our belts makes (us) feel really good.”

With freshman guard Brooke Kissinger getting over her initial jitters and nailing Illinois’ only 3-pointers of the season Tuesday, Bollant challenged the rest of the roster to start knocking down threes.

“Somebody’s got to be tough enough to make the first one,” Bollant said. “We’ve got to keep getting better. 

“That’s our goal, to focus on growing and getting better each game. We’ve done that defensively, and Thursday’s going to be a great test against a very athletic team.”

Joey can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter

@joeyfigueroa3.