(From Illinois Sports Information Office)

Illinois at Rutgers

Head Coach Shauna Green

Career Record: 212-105 (.669), 11th season
Division I Record: 183-80 (.696), Ninth season
At Illinois: 56-30 (.651), Third season
Big Ten Record: 24-21 (.533), Third season

OPENING TIP

The 51st campaign of Fighting Illini women's basketball rolls on with a road contest at Rutgers on Thursday 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 four 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 two Top-25 games in the same season for the first time since 2014-15.
• Illinois' seniors (Cook, Bryant, McKenzie, Shoup-Hill, Bostic) have a combined 442 career starts (416 at Illinois) and played a combined 584 games (456 at Illinois).
• Kendall Bostic's 1,282 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 47 double-doubles across her Illinois career, ranking second in school history behind Jenna Smith's 53.
• Illinois' free throws made per game mark of 16.25 ranks 13th in the NCAA.
• Illinois' 12.6 turnovers per game rank 21st in the NCAA.
• Illinois' free throw percentage of 79.9% ranks 6th 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

After going 0-9 to start its 2024-25 conference slate, Rutgers enters Thursday's contest following its first Big Ten win of the year, a 77-73 victory over Penn State away from home. The triumph saw the Scarlet Knights improve to 9-12 this season under third-year head coach Coquese Washington.

Rutgers is led by freshman Kiyomi McMiller and senior Destiny Adams, both of whom are averaging over 17 points per game and rank among the top seven scorers in the conference.

The Scarlet Knights are 8-7 on their home court this season and have lost their last five games at Jersey Mike's Arena; Rutgers is seeking its first home victory in Big Ten play and its first win in Piscataway since Dec. 21.

ALL-TIME SERIES INFORMATION

The Scarlet Knights hold a 9-5 edge in the all-time series, though the Illini have won the last four meetings between the sides. After going 1-9 against Rutgers across the first 10 games, Illinois has gone 4-0 against the Scarlet Knights under the guidance of Shauna Green, who took over as head coach ahead of the 2022-23 season.

The Orange and Blue are 1-5 when playing Rutgers on the road, with that lone victory dating back to Feb. 26, 2023, which also marked the Illini's last visit to Piscataway.

LAST TIME OUT

Kendall Bostic became the program's career rebounding leader as Illinois rolled past Purdue, 74-38, at State Farm Center on Monday night.

Four Fighting Illini scorers finished in double figures as the Orange and Blue earned their first win against the Boilermakers since 2021.

Surpassing Jenna Smith's rebounding record that stood since 2010, Kendall Bostic grabbed her record-breaking 11th rebound in the third quarter. With her 13th double-double of the season, Bostic scored 17 points, including 14 in the first quarter, and tallied two steals and an assist.

Pouring in double figures for the 11th time in her last 12 appearances, Genesis Bryant totaled 10 of her 13 points in the second quarter while also amassing three assists.

Jasmine Brown-Hagger logged 11 points, her ninth double-digit scoring effort of the campaign, while tacking on three assists and two rebounds.

Berry Wallace added 16 points and four rebounds off the bench, while Adalia McKenzie racked up seven points, four assists, and two rebounds.

ILLINI CONTINUE TO BATTLE DESPITE INJURY BUG

Through the team's first 20 games of the season, Illinois has yet to have its full 14-player roster available. Holding a 15-5 record despite those setbacks, the Illini have remained resilient while battling injury issues throughout the first half of the campaign.

Eight different players have missed at least one game due to injury or illness this season, including sophomore transfer center Lety Vasconcelos, who was expected to be a key piece in the rotation before suffering a season-ending ACL tear over the summer. On Jan. 8, the program announced that fifth-year Makira Cook (ongoing health condition) and sophomore Gretchen Dolan (knee) would both miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season. Illinois is now 4-1 since announcing Cook and Dolan would miss the remainder of the season.

Five-star freshman guard Berry Wallace (hand) missed seven of the first eight games, while junior forward Shay Bollin, who played in 29 games for the Illini last season, has yet to make an appearance during the 2024-25 campaign. Freshman Irene Noya Catoira sat out the first seven games of the year while recovering from injury, while guard Jasmine Brown-Hagger, who has since moved into the starting lineup, missed three games while working her way back from a concussion. The latest Illini to miss a game was freshman Hayven Smith at Northwestern.

BOSTIC MOVES ATOP PROGRAM'S CAREER REBOUNDING LIST

Fifth-year forward Kendall Bostic became the Fighting Illini's career rebounding leader during Illinois' game against Purdue on Jan. 27. After tying the previous mark in the first half, Bostic secured her record-breaking board in the third quarter, which saw her climb to 11 rebounds on the night and 1,218 rebounds across her time with the Orange and Blue.

Bostic surpassed Jenna Smith on the program's all-time rebounding list. Smith, who played at Illinois from 2006-10, posted 1,217 rebounds across her career; Bostic entered Illinois' game against Purdue needing 10 rebounds to tie the record and 11 rebounds to pass it.

Bostic is the fourth player in program history to record 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds while playing for the Illini.

The Kokomo, Indiana, native sits in third place on the Big Ten's career rebounding rankings, only behind Iowa's Megan Gustafson (1,460) and Ohio State's Jantel Lavender (1,422). Bostic sits at 1,282 career rebounds across her four seasons at Illinois and one season at Michigan State.

GREEN CONTINUES TO CLIMB PROGRAM'S ALL-TIME WIN LIST

Third-year head coach Shauna Green continues to move up the program's all-time wins list. After the Fighting Illini defeated Purdue on Jan. 27, Green posted her 56th win at the helm of the program, which currently ranks as the sixth-most victories by an Illinois women's basketball head coach.