(From Illinois Sports Information Office)

Illinois vs. Illinois State

Date/Time: Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025 - 12pm CT

Location: State Farm Center, Champaign (capacity 15,500)

TV: BIG+

ABOUT THE OPPONENT

The Illinois State Redbirds — hailing from Bloomington-Normal — are 1-0 on the season after besting Shauna Green's former Dayton Flyers at a final score of 87-76 on Monday night. The win came off a dominant third quarter in which ISU outscored Dayton by 11 points.

Illinois State's starting squad combined for 74 of the team's 87 points. The front court duo of Doneelah Washington and Addison Martin contributed 41 points while point guard Trista Fayta dropped 19, accompanied by 10 assists for a double-double. The two forwards are both listed 6'1". Martin was one of the team's leading scorers and rebounders last season, averaging 11.3 points and 5.6 rebounds.

Fayta, Martin and guard Bella Finnegan put up the majority of State's field goal attempts. While Finnegan only put up four points versus Dayton, she shot the three seven times and will likely be looking to shoot it again versus Illinois. She shot 33% on threes last season at Indiana State, and sank eight threes in the team's February match-up with Southern Illinois.

While she didn't start on Monday, Neveah Thomas is one of the Redbirds' most promising returners. The 6'1" stretch forward led the team in rebounding during her sophomore season, averaging 7.0 boards per game. Thomas also averaged 12.1 points per game and shot 54.5% from the field, the fifth best in the Missouri Valley Conference. She recorded 10 double-doubles in the 2024-25 season.

Entering her ninth season as Head Coach at Illinois State, Kristin Gillespie has an all time record of 263-160 with the program. Last season, her Redbirds finished at 24-13 to take fourth place in the MVC.

A RICH HISTORY

The Fighting Illini and Redbirds have faced off 37 times since their first meeting in 1976. Illinois is just ahead in the all-time series with a record of 21-16 against Illinois State. Illinois has dropped the last two games to ISU, with their last meeting coming in 2019.

Although she hasn't faced Illinois State during her time at Illinois, Shauna Green matched up with the Redbirds once, beating them 78-67 in her final year at Dayton.

ILLINOIS WINS SEASON OPENER

The Fighting Illini opened the 2025-26 season with a 91-67 win over SEMO at State Farm Center on Tuesday night. Three Illini finished in double figures, led by sophomore Berry Wallace's career-high 27 point double-double. Gretchen Dolan and Maddie Webber both added 16 points and freshman Destiny Jackson's six assists were the most in a freshman debut ever. Spearheaded by a dominant third quarter, outscoring SEMO by 17 points (29-12), Illinois pulled away for their ninth consecutive season opening win.

A PROGRAM RECORD

Destiny Jackson's six assists in her collegiate debut vs. SEMO is a program record for a freshman in a season opener. It breaks the record of five assists previously set by Jill Estey in November 1989. The 18-year-old Jackson also added six points, four rebounds, a block and a steal against the Redhawks.

CAREER HIGHS

Four Illini — Gretchen Dolan, Berry Wallace, Irene Noya Catoira and Lety Vasconcelos — broke their previous career high point totals in Tuesday's season opener versus SEMO.

Wallace recorded her first career double-double, putting up 27 points and 11 rebounds, both career highs. The 27-point outing, achieved on 10-18 shooting, breaks her previous record of 21. Wallace's 11 rebounds marks the first time she's grabbed 10+ boards in a game.

Meanwhile, Dolan tallied 16 points, five rebounds and seven assists in her first game since December 2024. Her 16 points marks the ninth time she's scored in double digits, and her team-leading seven assists ties her career high, which she achieved on one other occasion versus Le Moyne in November 2024.

The six-foot-seven Vasconcelos put up seven points and six rebounds in her Illini debut, both of which are career highs. Noya Catoira put up a career-high three points in 12 minutes on the floor, the most she's ever played in a night.

A BALANCED EFFORT

Nine Illini contributed in scoring vs. the Redhawks in Tuesday's season opener. This is the first time Illinois has had more than eight scorers since nine players scored against Le Moyne on Nov. 18, 2024. Berry Wallace, Gretchen Dolan and Maddie Webber led the way in scoring, with Wallace dropping 27 points while Dolan and Webber contributed 16 apiece.

DOMINANT DEBUTS

Five Illinois student-athletes — Destiny Jackson, Cearah Parchment, Gisela Segura, Lety Vasconcelos and Maddie Webber — made their debut on Tuesday against SEMO. The five newcomers combined for 53 points and 15 rebounds.

Webber, the Villanova transfer, was the first Illini off the bench and led the group with 16 points on 6-11 shooting in 28 minutes on the floor.

Jackson and Parchment, both starters, combined for 14 points, six from Jackson and eight via Parchment. Jackson's six assists set a program record for a freshman in their collegiate debut. Parchment, the team's youngest player, achieved her eight points in just 11 minutes on the floor.

Vasconcelos put up seven points and six rebounds in her first game in 611 days after missing the entirety of the 2024-25 season due to injury. Segura saw the floor for two minutes in the fourth quarter and grabbed a defensive board.

THE SHAUNA GREEN EFFECT

Illinois' 63 wins through Green's first three seasons match the program record in that span while also marking the most by a head coach in their first three years with the Orange and Blue. Across that period, Illinois is 38-11 at home under Green, and the program has secured double-digit wins in three straight seasons for the first time in program history. The Illini won 11 consecutive games from March 21-Nov. 26, 2024, a new program record and the longest active win streak in the country at the time. Additionally, Illinois strung together a program-record eight-game Big Ten winning streak en route to an 11-7 record in league play.

HOME ATTENDANCE NUMBERS

Across 15 home games during the 2022-23 season, Illinois Women's Basketball saw 52,295 fans fill the State Farm Center en route to a 12-3 record. That total attendance ranked 5th in program history and made Shauna Green the only head coach to bring in 50,000 or more fans in her first season with the Illini.

In Illinois' 2023-24 season - and home - opener, the attendance of 2,680 marked the largest ticketed season-opening crowd at State Farm Center since 2000 (3,954). In the Illini's 17 home games last season, Illinois finished with a combined attendance of 63,242 for an average of 3,720 a game. 63,242 is now the fifth-best all-time attendance.

In 2024-25, Illinois' season average finished at 4,967 per game across 17 home regular-season contests. The Illini went 14-3 at State Farm Center this season. Illinois' total attendance of 84,437 during the 2024-25 campaign ranks second-best in a season in program history.

Illinois' 2025-26 attendance of 4,227 was the largest crowd at a home-opener since 1997-98 (8,275)

LAND OF LINCOLN

Entering the 2025-26 season, five Illini proudly representing the Orange and Blue hail from their home state of Illinois.

Native to Shorewood, Ill, junior Jasmine Brown-Hagger started her high school career with two years at Joliet Catholic Academy, followed by two seasons of prep ball at Example Academy, in Frankfort, Ill.

Aaliyah Guyton represented the Peoria Lions throughout her high school career and earned two Big-12 Player of the Year awards in the process. She was ranked as the top player in the state in 2024.

Chicago's Destiny Jackson comes to Illinois directly after being named Illinois Ms. Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year in her senior year at Whitney Young Magnet High School. Averaging 21.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.8 steals, in her senior season, Jackson was nationally-ranked No. 28 in her class by 247Sports.

6'6" Hayven Smith hails from Frankfort, Ill, where she represented Lincoln-Way East for four years. In her senior season, Smith led the school to its first regional championship in seven years.

Mokena, Ill. native Mia Zenere notched one year at Lincoln-Way Central before heading to Example Academy for her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons.

INTERNATIONAL TIES

Going into Green's fourth year at Illinois, the Illini have six international athletes listed on their roster.

6'3" forward Manuella Alves is home to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She played her freshman and sophomore high school seasons in Brazil before playing the other two at Florida's IMG Academy.

Irene Noya Catoira hails from Vilagarcía de Arousa, Pontevedra, Spain. She Played for Segle XXI in the Spain-LF2 league from 2022-24 helping the team win the Group B regular season championship both seasons.

Freshman Erica Finney journeys to Champaign from Sydney, Australia, where she played high school ball at Cammeraygal High School. Finney represented Australia in the FIBA U17 2024 World Cup.

Cearah Parchment is from Whitby, Ontario, Canada. She attended Fort Erie International Academy and represented her country twice in FIBA World Cups.

Graduate student Gisela Segura hails from Cervera, Spain, where she graduated from Institut Joaquim Blume. She comes to Illinois after three years at Division II Franklin Pierce and one season at LIU.

Despite playing four high school seasons in the United States, Lety Vasconcelos is native to Miguel Calmon, Bahia, Brazil. She was a three-time member of the Brazilian national team, winning the South American Championship in 2020.

YOUNGEST TEAM

Green's fourth Illini squad is by far her youngest, with an average age of 19.91 years as of the start of the 2025-26 campaign. This places Illinois in the top-five for youngest rosters in Power 5 Women's Basketball.

Only two players — Gretchan Dolan and Gisela Segura — are above the age of 21. Segura is the team's oldest, with her 23rd birthday approaching in December.

Meanwhile Cearah Parchment is the youngest player on the team, at 18 years and four months. She was born on July 4, 2007, just five days after the launch of the iPhone.

A NEW ERA

Illinois enters the season with eight newcomers and seven returners on its 15-player roster. However, returning players accounted for 24.4% of last year's scoring. In total, 75.6% of the offensive production from 2024-25 departed with Kendall Bostic, Genesis Bryant, Adalia McKenzie, Makira Cook, and Brynn Shoup-Hill — all of whom concluded decorated collegiate careers.

Despite the turnover in scoring, the Illini bring in eight high-impact additions through recruiting and the portal. With elite size, athleticism, and skill across every position group, Shauna Green's squad steps into a new era of Illinois Women's Basketball, one defined by upside and opportunity.

TALLEST PLAYER IN PROGRAM HISTORY

Listed at 6'7", Lety Vasconcelos is the tallest player in program history. While the Illini have had various student-athletes at 6'6" in the past — including Aicha Ndour from 2022-2024 — the extra inch makes Vasconcelos the tallest Illini ever.

While she's the tallest Illini, Vasconcelos is tied for tallest in the conference, as Purdue's Avery Gordon and UCLA's Lauren Betts are also listed at the same height.