Who | Western Illinois (0-0, 0-0) at Notre Dame (0-0, 0-0) and Butler (0-0, 0-0)

When | Thursday, Nov. 11 -- 6 p.m. CT (at Notre Dame) and Saturday, Nov. 13 -- 11 a.m. CT (at Butler)

Where | South Bend, Ind. (Edmund P. Joyce Center) and Indianapolis, Ind. (Hinkle Fieldhouse)

Social Media | Twitter + Instagram + Facebook + #TRADITIONofTOUGH  

Quick Hits

• Western Illinois opens its 2021-22 campaign in the state of Indiana this week -- visiting Notre Dame (Nov. 11) and Butler (Nov. 13).

• WIU was picked seventh in this year's Summit League preseason poll.

• Notre Dame was picked sixth in the ACC preseason poll after going 8-7 in the conference a season ago.

• Notre Dame holds its home opener versus Ohio tonight (Nov. 9) at 7 p.m.

• Tomorrow (Nov. 10), Butler hosts #8 Indiana for its opening night.

• The Big East preseason poll had Butler slated to finish eleventh.

Most Recently … | During exhibition play, the Leathernecks defeated Columbia College (90-56) and Illinois Springfield (87-60) in home contests on Oct. 26 and Nov. 8, respectively.

Against Columbia College, four Leathernecks finished in double-figures in points, with Zars leading the way (17). The senior forward came up just short of a double-double -- adding nine boards. Elizabeth Lutz (11), Samantha Pryor (11), and Danni Nichols (10) rounded out the scoring quartet. Pryor was a perfect 4-4 from the field.

Mallory McDermott went 3-4 from distance for nine points. Addaya Moore provided a spark with seven points and five rebounds in her first Western showing, while fellow newcomer Jada Thorpe contributed five points and four assists.

Versus Illinois Springfield, McDermott started hot with eight first-quarter points en route to a team-high 15. Lutz filled up the stat sheet with 13 points, five rebounds, and seven assists. Zars added 13 points of her own, while Nichols (12) and Thorpe (10) rounded out a quintet of Leatherneck double-digit scorers. Nichols also pieced a well-rounded performance to include eight rebounds and five assists. Alissa Dins and Anna Deets were spark plugs off of the bench with seven points apiece. As a team, Western shot over 47% from the field and had eight blocks.

Approaching 1K | Team veteran Danni Nichols is nearing the 1,000 point club as she sits at 887 career points. The Columbia, Mo., native has been one of the Leathernecks' top scorers for the last pair of seasons, coming off of a 2020-21 campaign that saw her post 11.4 points a night. Nichols will be the 20th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark.

Back and Better | A strong core of returners headlines WIU's 2021-22 roster, as nine players are back with at least one year of experience. Two of those such Leathernecks were team leaders in three major categories last season: Evan Zars (9.0 rpg, 1.5 bpg) and Elizabeth Lutz (2.5 spg). Danni Nichols was Western's second-leading scorer, and Anna Deets was second on the team in made trey balls (40) as only a first-year.

A Trio of New Faces | This past spring, Western announced three newcomers joining the program: Jalynn Alexander, Addaya Moore, and Jada Thorpe.

Hailing from nearby Chicago, Alexander stands as the sole first-year on the team after enjoying a successful prep year at Marian Catholic high school, where she was named all-state and all-conference.

A transfer from Cincinnati, Moore spent three years with the Bearcats. The 5-10 guard was tabbed a starter in the early part of 2020-21 but suffered a season-ending injury after starting the first four games, in which she averaged 5.8 points, 2.3 assists, and 2.5 steals.

Thorpe, another Chicago native, arrives from Kansas State. She appeared in five games for the Wildcats during 2020-21 after missing her freshman year (2019-20) due to injury. Her resume with the Wildcats included nods to the 2020-21 Academic All-Big 12 first team, 2019-20 Big 12 Academic All-Rookie Team, and Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll.

A Brief History | Thursday will be the first-ever meeting between WIU and Notre Dame. In the series against Butler, the Leathernecks trail 3-1, with the most recent matchup happening on Nov. 17, 2018 -- the Bulldogs won 92-51.