Madison Dabrowski Director of Women's Basketball Branding & Creative Media | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website
Madison Dabrowski Director of Women's Basketball Branding & Creative Media | University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Website
The Illinois women's basketball team is set to commence its 51st season with a game against No. 19 Florida State on Thursday, November 7, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. The match is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and will be available for streaming on B1G+. Mike Koon will provide commentary for the Illini on the Busey Bank Illini Sports Network.
This game marks Illinois' sixth time facing an AP-ranked team in a season opener, holding a record of 2-3 in such games. Historically, Illinois has a 6-7 record in openers against Power opponents. The last time they faced a Power opponent in an opener was during the 2011-12 season against South Carolina.
Illinois brings back four players who have scored over 1,000 career points, sharing this distinction with Baylor, Notre Dame, and Kansas State as the most in NCAA. The returning starters from their exhibition game include Makira Cook, Genesis Bryant, Adalia McKenzie, Brynn Shoup-Hill, and Kendall Bostic. These players have accumulated significant experience with a combined total of 354 career starts.
Florida State comes into this matchup after a commanding victory over North Florida earlier this week and has appeared in 11 consecutive NCAA Tournaments. This will be the third meeting between Illinois and Florida State; FSU leads the series with two wins.
Head Coach Shauna Green enters her third season at Illinois with an overall record of 41-25. Her leadership brought Illinois its first-ever postseason title by winning the WBIT Championship earlier this year.
In preparation for this season's start, three fifth-year players from Illinois were included on Naismith Award position watch lists: Makira Cook (Point Guard), Genesis Bryant (Shooting Guard), and Kendall Bostic (Power Forward). Freshman Berry Wallace was also highlighted as an expected impact freshman by Shane Laflin of Premier Basketball/ESPNW.
The University of Illinois Board of Trustees is expected to approve a two-year contract extension for Coach Green at its upcoming meeting on November 14. This extension aims to retain Green through at least the 2029-30 season.
Illinois women's basketball also had a successful foreign tour across Italy and Greece during August where they won exhibition games against local teams.
The Illini are represented professionally by former players across multiple countries including Greece, Puerto Rico, France, Dominican Republic and domestically within the Women's Premier Basketball Association (WPBA).
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