Monday Game vs. Oakland Closes Season-Opening Homestand

Illinois Starters Last Game (93-54 win vs. Evansville)
position	No.	Surname	Ht.	yr	PPG	RPG	APG	season note
G	3	Makira Cook	5-6	jr	15.5	4.3	3.5	9-of-12 3FG, 64.1 FG%, 6 steals
G	12	Jayla Oden	5-9	So.	7.8	2.5	2.5	4 steals, 13-for-17 FT
G	24	Adalia McKenzie	5-10	So.	13.5	4.5	1.5	8 OReb, 50% FG
f	23	Brynn Shoup Hill	6-3	So.	3.5	5.5	1.0	11 OReb, 5 blocks, 4 steals
f	44	Kendall Bostic	6-2	jr	9.8	9.8	0.7	70.8% FG%, 7 blocks, 2 double doubles

Head coach Shauna Green

Career Record: 160-75 (.681), ninth year
Division I Record: 131-50 (.724), seventh year
At Illinois: 4-0, first year
Big Ten: 0-0

Series Notes vs Oakland

All-Time Record: Series tied, 1-1
Record in Champaign: Illinois leads, 1-0
Streak: Lost 1
Last meeting: L, 61-62 on Dec. 8, 2018 (Rochester, Mich.)
Green vs Opponent: 0-0

Opening tips

Illinois has opened its 49th season of women’s basketball with a 4-0 record for just the eighth time in program history.
Shauna Green is the first coach in program history to open her Illinois career with a 3-0 start and has pushed the new mark to wins in her first four games.
Illinois has five returners on the 2022-23 squad, including: Jada Peebles, Jayla Oden, Geovana Lopes, Adalia McKenzie and Kendall Bostic
Shauna Green brought in eight newcomers since being hired on March 21, 2022 – four freshmen and four transfers.
Illinois’ transfers include: Genesis Bryant (NC State), Makira Cook (Dayton), Aicha Ndour (NW Florida State College) and Brynn Shoup-Hill. Those three programs went a combined 85-13 last season.
Shauna Green’s trio of assistant coaches are no strangers to her or each other. Green, Calamity McEntire, DeAntoine Beasley and Ryan Gensler were on the Dayton Women’s Basketball staff together for four seasons from 2017-21. With those four coaches leading from the sidelines, the Flyers posted a 79-34 overall record across four seasons.

Oakland Storylines

Oakland enters Monday’s meeting with a 2-1 record, owning wins over Central Michigan and Akron while suffering a loss at Michigan State.
Oakland went 15-15 overall last season.
The Golden Grizzlies brought in a trio of transfers ahead of the 2022-23 season along with a pair of true freshmen.

SERIES VS. OAKLAND

Illinois is tied with Oakland in the all-time series, 1-1. The Illini fell in the most recent meeting, 62-61, on Dec. 8, 2019 in Rochester, Mich. The first meeting took place in Champaign on Dec. 19, 2009 – a 64-50 Illini win. Monday’s tilt will be the first meeting against Oakland of Shauna Green’s career.

NAME OF THE GAME IS DEFENSE

Illinois women’s basketball has instilled the goal of holding opponents to 10 points or less per quarter. Through four games, Illinois has limited opposition to 10 or less points in 8 of 16 chances.

POINTS ALLOWED BY QUARTER
OPPONENT	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
LIU	9	8th	7	16
Alcorn State	10	15	26	8th
McNeese State	7	5	13	13
Evansville	6	15	15	18

4-0 START

Win four of the 2022-23 campaign came in the form of a 93-54 victory over Evansville.
Illinois scored 90 or more points for the third-straight game – the first time in the program the feat has been achieved.
The Illini led 50-21 at the half, marking three-straight games with a 50-point half for the first time in program history.
Five Fighting Illini finished with double-digit points for the third game of the season.
Illinois recorded 10 combined blocks for the first time since Jan. 23, 2018.
The Illini secured a 4-0 start to the season for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign.

GOTTA GIVE THE KIDS WHAT THEY WANT

Illinois hosted its annual Field Trip Day on Nov. 16, when the Illini took on McNeese State.
Attendance was called at 8,141 – the 11th largest crowd in program history and top mark in the last 20 seasons.
Early in the fourth quarter, the school kids began a “we want 100” chant. With 31 seconds left in the game, Camille Jackson sank a free throw to push the Illini into triple digits for the 100-38 victory.
The 62-point margin of victory is the second-largest in program history.
The Illini are now 5-1 in Field Trip Day games.

ANOTHER 30-POINT WIN

Illinois women’s basketball earned its second win of the season on Nov. 13, taking down Alcorn State, 90-59.
The Illini connected for 12-of-23 from beyond the arc – tying the third-most 3-pointers made in a game in program history.
Illinois scored 90 points in the game, the first time reaching the mark since Nov. 5, 2019 vs. Chicago State.
Jada Peebles delivered 14 points for the 30th double-digit scoring effort of her career.
Makira Cook dropped 21 points, marking the eighth 20+ point of her career and first as an Illini.
Illinois shot better from 3-point territory 52.2% (12-of-23) than the field 45.2% (28-of-62).
Freshman Kam’ren Rhodes made her Illinois debut in the win.

SHAUNA GREEN ERA BEGINS WITH A WIN

Illinois dominated in its regular-season opener, defeating Long Island, 75-40, in the team’s first game under head coach Shauna Green.
Kendall Bostic recorded the seventh double-double of her career, recording a game-high and career-best 16 points and 11 rebounds
Twelve different players registered minutes in the 35-point win, while five Illini recorded at least 10 points.
The Illinois defense did not allow an LIU player into double-digit scoring – the first time no opposing player scored in double figures since Nov. 25, 2011, vs. Arizona State (Arizona State 51, Illinois 50).
Seven Illini made their debut in the Orange and Blue in the win, including: Camille Jackson, Genesis Bryant, Makira Cook, Liisa Taponen, Aicha Ndour, Brynn Shoup-Hill and Samantha Dewey.

COMPLETE GAME NOTES (PDF)