Game Preview: Illini vs. Northwestern

(From Illinois Sports Information Office)

Illinois vs. Northwestern
Date | Time Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025 | 6 p.m. CT
Location Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center
Tickets Buy Tickets
Promotions Women Win in Orange Night | National Women & Girls in Sports Day Celebration
Digital Game Programs All Publications | Northwestern Game
Watch B1G+ | B1G+ App | WATCH
Radio FightingIllini.com | Listen
Live Stats StatBroadcast
Rosters Illinois | Northwestern
Stats Illinois | Northwestern
Game Notes Illinois | Northwestern | Big Ten
Record Books Illinois | Big Ten WBB | NCAA WBB
Availability/Interviews Northwestern Pregame Availability (2/5/25) | YouTube Playlist
Shop Online Store | Auctions
Social Media @IlliniWBB  | @IlliniWBB 129943 | Facebook  | YouTube 

 

Illinois Starters Last Game
Pos. No. Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG APG SPG BPG Season Note
G 1 Genesis Bryant 5-6 5th 14.8 3.5 3.4 1.1 0.0 Recorded second-career double-double at Northwestern on Jan. 23 (13p, 13a)
G 8 Jasmine Brown-Hagger 5-9 So. 9.0 2.0 2.2 1.0 0.0 Has scored at least seven points in six of her last eight games
G 24 Adalia McKenzie 5-10 Sr. 12.8 4.5 3.1 0.9 0.1 Has 10+ points in 11 of the last 13 games and has 17 such performances this season
F 23 Brynn Shoup-Hill 6-3 Sr. 5.1 6.1 1.0 0.4 1.0 Has 8+ rebounds in nine games this season
F 44 Kendall Bostic 6-2 5th 16.0 11.3 1.6 0.5 0.7 Became the program's career rebounding leader against Purdue on Jan. 27

Head Coach Shauna Green

Career Record: 214-105 (.671), 11th season
Division I Record: 185-80 (.698), Ninth season
At Illinois: 58-30 (.659), Third season
Big Ten Record: 26-21 (.553), Third season

OPENING TIP

The 51st campaign of Fighting Illini women's basketball continues on Thursday, when Illinois hosts Northwestern at 6 p.m. CT on B1G+. Mike Koon will call the action for the Illini on the Busey Bank Illini Sports Network (1400 AM / 93.9 FM). Audio and stats links are also available at FightingIllini.com/wbb.

  • Illinois won 10 games before Christmas (Dec. 25) for the first time since 2022-23 and for the second time since 2006-07.
  • Illinois has earned a win over a ranked opponent for the third consecutive season and is up to five under Green.
  • Head coach Shauna Green earned her 200th win as a head coach on Nov. 14, 2024 vs. Eastern Illinois.
  • The Fighting Illini have now been ranked in the Top 25 in all three seasons under Green.
  • 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 returned four 1,000-career point scorers, tied for the most in the NCAA with Baylor, Notre Dame, and Kansas State.
  • Illinois has won multiple Top-25 games in the same season for the first time since 2014-15.
  • Illinois has won three Top-25 games in the same season for the first time since 1999-2000.
  • Illinois' seniors (Cook, Bryant, McKenzie, Shoup-Hill, Bostic) have a combined 450 career starts (424 at Illinois) and played a combined 592 games (464 at Illinois).
  • Kendall Bostic's 1,307 career rebounds rank second of all active NCAA D1 players and is the active Big Ten-leading mark.
  • On Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, Kendall Bostic grabbed the 1,218th rebound of her Illinois career and broke Jenna Smith's all-time record of 1,217 boards.
  • Also on Jan. 27, 2025, Bostic moved into third place on the Big Ten's career rebounding list, surpassing Indiana's Denise Jackson (1981-84) at 1,273 rebounds.
  • Kendall Bostic owns 49 double-doubles across her Illinois career, ranking second in school history behind Jenna Smith's 53.
  • Illinois' free throws made per game mark of 15.64 ranks 16th in the NCAA.
  • Illinois' 12.5 turnovers per game rank 20th in the NCAA.
  • Illinois' free throw percentage of 80.3% ranks 3rd in the NCAA and leads the Big Ten.
  • Eight different Illini scorers have posted double-digit points in a game this season: Bostic, Bryant, Brown-Hagger, Cook, Dolan, McKenzie, Shoup-Hill, Wallace.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT

Currently on an eight-game losing skid, Northwestern enters Thursday night's contest with a 7-13 overall record and an 0-9 mark in Big Ten play. The Wildcats are looking for their first win since Dec. 21, while they are also aiming to earn their first conference victory of the season.

Northwestern is 1-3 in true road games during the 2024-25 campaign, with the lone win dating back to Nov. 26, when NU defeated Loyola Chicago away from home.

The Wildcats are the only team in the Big Ten that is winless in conference play this season.

ALL-TIME SERIES INFORMATION

Northwestern holds a 49-39 lead in the all-time series heading into the 89th all-time meeting between the sides on Thursday. After the Wildcats won 14-straight games against the Illini from 2015-2022, the Orange and Blue have won each of the last five games against NU, including an 85-60 road victory at Northwestern on Jan. 23.

Illinois is 20-22 against Northwestern when playing in Champaign, while the Illini are looking for three-consecutive home wins over the Wildcats for the first time since 2007-10.

LAST TIME OUT

Illinois secured its first ranked road win since 2019 with a dramatic 66-65 victory over No. 14 Maryland at XFINITY Center on Sunday afternoon.

With three lead changes in the final 60 seconds, Genesis Bryant knocked down two free throws with six seconds remaining to give the Fighting Illini their first-ever win against the Terrapins and their third ranked triumph of the season.

Playing all 40 minutes, Bryant finished with a game-high 20 points while making two 3-pointers and going a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Scoring 10 points in the third quarter alone, Bryant also amassed four rebounds, two assists, and a steal.

Berry Wallace continued to make clutch plays for the Orange and Blue, with the true freshman recording 14 points to along with a career-high four 3-pointers. She also collected two rebounds, an assist, a block, and a steal.

Brynn Shoup-Hill knocked down a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left to give the Illini a late lead. She logged seven points, two assists, and a block, and five of her eight rebounds came on the offensive glass.

Kendall Bostic posted her fifth consecutive double-double, concluding the afternoon with 13 points and 14 rebounds. She also tallied two assists and a block across her 40 minutes of action.

Adalia McKenzie filled the stat sheet with nine points, a career high-tying seven assists, and three rebounds.

The Illini shot 10-for-21 from 3-point range in the road victory, while they turned 10 offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points.

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