Chambana Sun

Fighting Illini women's basketball team has announced the addition of Ténin Magassa, a graduate transfer from Rhode Island. She will join the University of Illinois for the 2024-25 season after signing a Big Ten Tender of Financial Aid.

Magassa, originally from Morsang-Sur-Orge, France, is a 6-foot-6-inch center who previously played under Coach Shauna Green at Dayton from 2020 to 2022 before transferring to Rhode Island. During her career, she has participated in 93 games, averaging 6.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in under 18 minutes per game. Her statistics include 638 points, 514 rebounds, 190 blocks, and 53 steals, with six double-doubles recorded.

Over the past four seasons, teams featuring Magassa have achieved an overall record of 87-32 and a conference play record of 50-12. Her experience includes reaching the NCAA Second Round and two WNIT appearances.

Before her time at Rhode Island, where she played in 43 games and started in 12, Magassa was recognized on the Preseason Atlantic 10 All-Conference Third Team for both seasons. She earned accolades as the A-10 Sixth Woman of the Year during her freshman year and was part of the All-Rookie Team.

At Rhode Island, Magassa maintained a field-goal percentage of 51.9% (111-of-214), scoring a total of 274 points. She collected an average of 4.3 rebounds per game with a total of 183 rebounds including offensive boards. Her defensive contributions included ranking seventh on Rhody's all-time list with her career total of 77 blocks.

During her tenure at Dayton, she played in 50 games with starting roles in half those matches. She ended fifth all-time in Dayton history with a total of 113 blocks while maintaining a field-goal percentage also at 51.9% (152-of-293). As a Flyer, she averaged seven rebounds per game and contributed offensively with an average score of seven points per game.

A graduate from Jean Moulin High School in France and third-leading scorer for the U18 French national team that won bronze at the European Championships in both U18 (2019) and U16 (2017) categories, Magassa brings significant international experience to Illinois.

Shauna Green expressed enthusiasm about reuniting with Magassa: "I am so happy that Ténin is back in our family... T is a winner... I can not wait to have T back with us and get to work!"

Magassa shared her excitement about joining Illinois: "I feel overjoyed rejoining people that feel like home... I'm extremely grateful for this opportunity."