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Champaign-Urbana
Serving Champaign, Urbana, and Savoy, IllinoisVol. 1, No. 24
Sports

No. 23 Illinois women's basketball opens with exhibition against UIS tonight at State Farm Center

Sports desk
Friday, Oct. 30, 2026In the Friday, Oct. 30, 2026 edition

CHAMPAIGN - The Illinois women's basketball team opens its 2026-27 season with an exhibition against Illinois Springfield at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, at State Farm Center, according to the university's athletics department. The game streams on B1G+ and airs on the Busey Bank Illini Sports Network.

It is the Illini's only preseason game open to the public. Kids 12 and under wearing a costume get in free for the Halloween game, the department says.

Illinois is No. 23 in the Associated Press preseason poll, its fifth preseason ranking in program history, as coach Shauna Green begins her fifth season. UIS, a Division II team, went 14-14 last season and was picked ninth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference preseason coaches poll.

The regular season opens against Detroit Mercy at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, at State Farm Center.

Source: Fighting Illini Athletics preview, Oct. 29, 2026 (read Oct. 30, 2026).

Drafted by AI from the linked public source. Approved by a Daily News Editor.

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