Story Links
Illinois Starters Last Game
Pos.
No.
Name
Ht.
Yr.
PPG
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
Season Note
G
1
Genesis Bryant
5-6
5th
11.8
2.8
2.5
1.2
0.1
Became the 34th player in program history to score 1,000 points as an Illini
G
8
Jasmine Brown-Hagger
5-9
So.
10.3
2.4
1.4
0.9
0.0
Has scored in double figures four times this season; made first-career start vs. Bradley
G
24
Adalia McKenzie
5-10
Sr.
13.1
5.1
2.7
1.0
0.1
Posted her first double-double of the season at Canisius on Dec. 2
F
23
Brynn Shoup-Hill
6-3
Sr.
6.1
8.0
0.8
0.3
1.0
Has multiple blocks in four games this season
F
44
Kendall Bostic
6-2
5th
16.7
10.4
1.4
0.3
0.7
4th player in program history to record 1,000 career points & 1,000 career rebounds
Head Coach Shauna Green
Career Record: 205-102 (.668), 11th season
Division I Record: 176-77 (.696), Ninth season
At Illinois: 49-27 (.645), Third season
Big Ten Record: 19-18 (.514), Third season
LIVE STREAM
Fans unable to attend Sunday afternoon’s contest can watch Illinois vs. Southern Indiana online by purchasing a subscription to B1G+, a streaming service of non-televised events produced by the Big Ten Network in partnership with the Big Ten Conference schools.
Fans who sign up can choose either the monthly rate of $12.99 or the annual rate of $89.99. The B1G+ subscription includes access to live streaming of non-televised games, next day on-demand archives, and access to Big Ten Network’s library of Illinois’ previous season classics and originals.
A total of 11 remaining Illinois women’s basketball games are slated to be streamed via B1G+:
» Dec. 20 at 12 p.m. vs. Southern
» Dec. 28 at 2 p.m. vs. Oregon
» Jan. 5 at 2 p.m. at Minnesota
» Jan. 9 at 6 p.m. vs. Iowa
» Jan. 19 at 2 p.m. vs. Michigan State
» Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. at Rutgers
» Feb. 2 at 12 p.m. at Maryland
» Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. vs. Northwestern
» Feb. 9 at 3 p.m. at Wisconsin
» Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. vs. Penn State
» March 2 at 2 p.m. vs. Michigan
OPENING TIP
The 51st campaign of Fighting Illini women’s basketball continues with the second contest of a five-game homestand as Illinois hosts Southern Indiana on Sunday, Dec. 15, at 1 p.m. CT on B1G+ from State Farm Center. Mike Koon will call the action for the Illini on the Busey Bank Illini Sports Network (1400 AM / 93.9 FM). Streaming, audio, and stats links are also available at FightingIllini.com/wbb.
Illinois has earned a win over a ranked opponent for the third consecutive season under Green.
The Fighting Illini have now been ranked in the Top 25 in all three seasons under Green.
Illinois returned four 1,000-career point scorers, tied for the most in the NCAA with Baylor, Notre Dame, and Kansas State.
Illinois’ seniors (Cook, Bryant, McKenzie, Shoup-Hill, Bostic) have a combined 397 career starts (371 at Illinois) and played a combined 539 games (411 at Illinois).
Kendall Bostic’s 1,162 career rebounds rank third of all active NCAA D1 players.
Head coach Shauna Green earned her 200th win as a head coach on Nov. 14, 2024 vs. Eastern Illinois.
Illinois faced a ranked team in its Big Ten opener for the third straight season (#12/7 Ohio State, –/25 Michigan, #5/4 Indiana).
Illinois’ 10.8 turnovers per game rank third in the NCAA (108 turnovers through 10 games).
Illinois’ 3-point percentage defense ranks 10th in the NCAA at 22.4 (49-of-219).
The Illini have held opponents at/below 15 points in 25 of 40 regulation periods.
Seven different Illini scorers have posted double-digit points in a game this season: Bostic, Bryant, Brown-Hagger, Cook, Dolan, McKenzie, Shoup-Hill.
Six Illini players are averaging double-digit points this season.
The Fighting Illini return eight players from last year’s WBIT Championship team while adding six newcomers – four freshmen and two transfers – into the mix.
State Farm Center to Host D2 Contest Following Illinois-Southern Indiana Game
Following Illinois’ game on Sunday, Drury will face Grand Valley State for a neutral-site tilt. Tipoff for the Division II matchup is slated for 4 p.m. CT. At that time, all seating in State Farm Center will transition to general admission seating. A ticket to the Illinois vs. Southern Indiana game is good for admission to Sunday’s second game.
Grand Valley State – located in Allendale, Michigan – is the top-ranked Division II women’s basketball program in the country and holds a 10-0 record thus far this season. The Lakers have already posted three top-10 wins on the year after advancing to the third round of the 2024 Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Drury – located in Springfield, Missouri – is 6-2 on the season and is riding a three-game winning streak into Sunday’s contest. The Lady Panthers are ranked No. 7 in the most recent D2CSC Midwest Region poll. Hope Whitman (née Hunt), the wife of Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman, played basketball at Drury from 2000-05 and is a member of the Drury Athletics Hall of Fame. She ranks 10th on the program’s all-time scoring list, eighth in career assists, fifth in career steals, fifth in career 3-point percentage, and fourth in career 3-pointers made.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
Southern Indiana boasts an 8-2 record heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Fighting Illini. The Screaming Eagles have already nearly pulled off a road upset on the road against a Big Ten team this season after falling to Indiana, 67-63, on Dec. 4. USI led by 13 points at halftime and was ahead by as many as four in the fourth quarter before the Hoosiers eventually came back to secure the win.
The Screaming Eagles were picked to win the Ohio Valley Conference in the league’s preseason poll, while Southern Indiana’s Meredith Raley, Vanessa Shafford, and Madi Webb were all selected as OVC Players to Watch after each earning all-conference honors during the 2023-24 season.
USI holds a 1-2 mark away from home, with both losses coming to Power 4 teams: Indiana and No. 17 Louisville.
ALL-TIME SERIES INFORMATION
Sunday’s contest marks the first-ever meeting between Illinois and Southern Indiana.
The Screaming Eagles are the second OVC team that the Illini will play this season, as the Orange and Blue defeated Eastern Illinois, 84-37, on Nov. 14 at State Farm Center.
LAST TIME OUT
Illinois remained perfect at State Farm Center this season with a 70-52 victory over Bradley on Dec. 12. Now 6-0 at home during the 2024-25 campaign, the Fighting Illini had three scorers finish in double figures as the Orange and Blue posted their 10th home victory in a row.
Adalia McKenzie scored a season-high 23 points, including 15 points in the second half. McKenzie also totaled six rebounds, three steals, and one assist. Kendall Bostic secured her sixth double-double of the season and also surpassed the 20-point mark, recording 22 points and 10 rebounds while going 10-for-14 from the field. Bostic added three assists and one block. Genesis Bryant amassed 15 points, four assists, three rebounds, and a season-most three steals.
HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE
Following its 5-0 homestand to open the regular season and the team’s win over Bradley on Dec. 12, Illinois has now won 10 consecutive games in State Farm Center. The streak is tied for the third-longest such stretch in program history. Illinois is 30-8 in home games under Shauna Green.
ILLINOIS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL LONGEST HOME WIN STREAKS
Streak
First Win
Last Win
Illini Head Coach
18 games
12/20/1997
1/5/1999
Theresa Grentz
11 games
2/14/1986
1/30/1987
Laura Golden
10 games
2/19/2024
Active
Shauna Green
10 games
11/20/1981
1/29/1982
Jane Schroeder
GREEN BECOMES FASTEST ILLINI COACH TO REACH 30 HOME WINS
With the Fighting Illini’s 70-52 victory over Bradley at State Farm Center on Dec. 12, Illinois moved to 30-8 in home games under third-year head coach Shauna Green. Needing only 38 home games to reach the 30-win mark, Green became the fastest Illini head coach to achieve the feat in program history, surpassing the previous mark by one game.
Green’s 2022-23 squad went 12-3 at State Farm Center in the first season under Green’s guidance, while last year’s 2023-24 Fighting Illini team recorded 12 home wins for the second-consecutive season, including two wins in the squad’s postseason run to the inaugural WBIT title. With the Orange and Blue starting 6-0 at State Farm Center during the 2024-25 campaign, the Illini clinched 30 home wins in the span of just 38 games under Green.
COACH GREEN RETURNS TO HER ALMA MATER
The No. 21-ranked Illini picked up their first true road win of the season on Dec. 2 in a 68-55 victory over Canisius as Illinois third-year head coach Shauna Green returned to her alma mater. The Fighting Illini were the first-ever Division I ranked team to play at the Golden Griffins’ Koessler Athletic Center.
Illinois forced a season-high 23 Canisius turnovers and scored 18 points off those takeaways, while the Orange and Blue led for a total of 39:33 in the contest and did not trail.
For the first time in her career as both an assistant and head coach, Shauna Green (the former Shauna Geronzin), coached against her alma mater, Canisius, on Nov. 26, 2023. The Illini won, 90-58.
Illinois made a return trip to Canisius during the team’s 2024-25 slate, with the Illini posting a 68-55 road win on Dec. 2.
Wearing No. 34 for the Griffs from 1998-2002, Green scored 2,012 career points, the most of any men’s or women’s player – a record which still stands. She also became the program’s all-time leading rebounder with 910 boards – a mark that now ranks second. Green was named 1999 MAAC Rookie of the Year and was also voted 2002 Canisius Female Athlete of the Year. She was a four-time All-MAAC selection and three-time All- MAAC First-Team honoree. She was enshrined into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
ILLINI EARN SPOT IN AP POLL FOR FOUR CONSECUTIVE WEEKS
Fighting Illini women’s basketball was ranked in the Associated Press Top-25 Poll for four consecutive weeks and earned spots in the Weeks 2-5 polls.
The highest Illinois has been ranked under Green was the team’s 2024-25 Week 4 No. 19 mark, while the previous high of No. 21 came back during the 2022-23 campaign.
Illinois has been ranked in nine combined AP polls under Green. In 2022-23, the Illini appeared in four Top-25 polls, followed by the preseason rankings in 2023-24, and most recently the Week 2-5 polls
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