Vernon Estes

Women's Basketball 12/16/2016 6:53:00 PM Corey Miggins, Sports Information Director

Women's Basketball Takes on Western Illinois on Saturday to Open Two-Game Homestand

Sophomore Tiana Thomas

Western Illinois (8-3) at Chicago State (0-10)
Date	Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016
Time	2 p.m.
Location	Jones Convocation Center - Chicago, Ill.
Video	N/A
Radio	WCSU Radio
Live Stats	http://www.sidearmstats.com/csu/wbball/
Social Media	@ChiStateCougars (Twitter)

CHICAGO -

OPENING TIP – Chicago State women's basketball makes a return to the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center on Saturday afternoon as it welcomes in-state rival Western Illinois to begin a two-game homestand with the opening tip set for 2 p.m.

SCOUTING CSU – CSU brings a 0-10 record on the season into Saturday's home battle with WIU after concluding its four-game road swing on Wednesday night with a 71-49 defeat at Milwaukee despite having four players score in double figures. Sophomore guard/forward Kaylee Allen (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods) leads the Green and White with averages of 13.3 points and 2.5 assists per game, while redshirt junior guard Jessica Cerda (Streamwood, Ill./Streamwood) is second in scoring at 8.6 points a game. Junior guard Destiny Harris (Crete, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) is grabbing a team-high 5.5 rebounds a game and sophomore guard Tiana Thomas (Rockton, Ill./Hononegah) leads CSU with 1.5 steals per contest.

SCOUTING WIU – Off to its best start since the 2005-06 season, Western Illinois comes to the Windy City with an 8-3 record and has won its last three contests after being idle this week for final exams. The Leathernecks were last in action on Dec. 10 when they defeated in-state rival Eastern Illinois at Western Hall by a score of 83-62. WIU has three players that are averaging double figure scoring for the season with junior guard Emily Clemens leading the team at 20.3 points, 7.3 assists and 3.1 steals per game. Clemens, a three-time Summit League Player of the Week honoree, is also shooting 55 percent from the field, 46 percent from three-point range and 89 percent from the free throw line. Junior guard Morgan Blumer is averaging 16 points a game while grabbing a team-high 6.1 rebounds per contest.

SERIES HISTORY – Western Illinois has produced 33-2 lifetime advantage with Chicago State with Saturday's game serving as the third contest between the two schools since 2006-07. The Leathernecks posted an 88-50 last season at Western Hall on Nov. 21, 2015 with Sh'Toya Sanders (Fort Wayne, Ind./Wayne) (14 points), Layne Murphy (Country Club Hills, Ill./Rich Central) (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Thomas (12 points) each scoring in double figures for the Green and White.

DOUBLE VISION – The Cougars have had three players to average double figure scoring over the last five games in Allen (13 ppg), Cerda (11.8 ppg) and senior guard Cailin Nix (Martinsville, Ind./Martinsville) (10.8 ppg).

SUCH THIEVERY – CSU has turned into some crafty thieves on the court over its last five contests by posting an average of nine steals a game with Thomas and freshman forward Alexandria Cliff (Manitowoc, Wis./Roncalli) each recording two steals a game during this stretch. Cliff and Cerda each tallied four steals in Wednesday night's game at Milwaukee.

UP NEXT – CSU closes its short homestand at the Jones Convocation Center on Wednesday, Dec. 21 against Western Michigan in a live broadcast on WVON AM Radio beginning at 7 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#25 Layne Murphy: F; 6' 2"; Senior

#23 Kaylee Allen: G/F; 5' 9"; Sophomore

#30 Jessica Cerda: G; 5' 10"; Redshirt Junior

#20 Cailin Nix: G; 5' 9"; Senior

#12 Tiana Thomas: G; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#4 Alexandria Cliff: F; 6' 0"; Freshman

#25 Destiny Harris: G; 5' 7"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#25 Layne Murphy
: 6' 2"; Senior
: F

#23 Kaylee Allen
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: G/F

#30 Jessica Cerda
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Junior
: G

#20 Cailin Nix
: 5' 9"; Senior
: G

#12 Tiana Thomas
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: G

#4 Alexandria Cliff
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: F

#25 Destiny Harris
: 5' 7"; Junior
: G

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned