DAYTON - The University of Dayton women's basketball program will tip-off the 2025-26 season on Monday, Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. at Illinois State University. The season opener will take place at CEFCU Arena in Normal, Ill.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS 
Dayton finished the 2024-25 with a 18-13 mark overall and 11-7 A-10 record. The Flyers entered the Atlantic 10 Championship tournament as the No. 6 seed. 

Head coach Tamika Williams-Jeter finished her third season in charge of her hometown Flyers, coming over after a year at Wittenberg. She has assistant coaching stops at Kansas, Kentucky, Penn State, and Ohio State. 

The Flyers averaged 63.8 points per game and held opponents to 62.5 points each outing. Dayton shot 41.3 percent overall, 30.9 percent from three point range, and 70.4 percent from the free throw line. UD benefited from a +3.0 rebounding margin as well. 

'Dayton looks to replace a couple of key starters from last year's squad, but the Flyers return graduate student and preseason All-Atlantic 10 honoree Nicole Stephens, who made 25 starts and averaged 28.7 minutes per game at the helm. Senior Nayo Lear will also move into a bigger role after averaging 4.7 points per game and nine starts in 24-25.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
ILLINOIS STATE
Illinois State looks to take the next step after making it all the way to the WNIT Fab 4 last season with a 24-13 record overall and 14-6 league mark in Missouri Valley Conference play.

Head coach Kristen Gillespie is entering her ninth season at Illinois State and has over 150 wins with the Redbirds. 

As a team, Illinois State averaged 76.0 points per game last season while giving up 68.9 points to their opponents. The Redbirds shot 48.8 percent from the field, 38.5 percent from deep, and 68.8 percent from the stripe.

The Redbirds lost a key contributor from last season in Shannon Dowell. Dowell was named to the 2024 All-MVC Freshman team. Dowell led the team in scoring last season with 17.1 points per game, which places her second all time in Illinois State single season scoring list. However, they do return junior forward Navaeh Thomas who played a huge role in the Redbirds successful season last year. Thomas led the team in rebounding averaging 7.0 rebounds per game and 12.1 points per game.

LAST TIME OUT
Dayton played a pair of closed scrimmages against Wright State and Michigan State in the preseason. 

Illinois State hosted Illinois Wesleyan in an exhibition on Oct. 26 and earned a 89-46 win at CEFCU Arena. ISU shot 51.5 percent from the field and had 50 points in the paint in the victory. Bella Finnegan had a team-high 20 points while Nevaeh Thomas had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds coming off the bench. 

SERIES HISTORY
This is the sixth meeting in the series between Dayton and Illinois State with Dayton holding a 3-2 advantage. In the last matchup between the two in November  2022, the Redbirds earned a 74-70 OT victory. 

WILLIAMS-JETER NAMED TO MID-MAJOR COY WATCH LIST
Head coach Tamika Williams-Jeter was named to the 2026 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Preseason Watch List presented by Her Hoop Stats. 

FLYERS PICKED 5TH IN PRESEASON POLL
Dayton was picked to finish fifth in the 2025-26 Atlantic 10 preseason poll with 123 votes. The Flyers were chosen just behind A-10 favorites Richmond, George Mason, Davidson, and Rhode Island, but ahead of the likes of Saint Joseph's, VCU, Duquesne, and Saint Louis.

STEPHENS EARNS PRESEASON A-10 HONORS
Dayton graduate student Nicole Stephens was named to the A-10 Preseason All-Conference Third Team after averaging 6.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game last season. 

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