Illinois get 20 points from sophomore guard Jasmine Brown-Hagger to move past Southern in the Illini’s 12th straight home win.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

December 20, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois cruised through its 12th straight victory inside State Farm Center.

The Illini managed to withstand the aggressive full-court trapping defense thanks to getting a solid 20 points and five assists from second-year guard Jasmine Brown-Hagger.

Brown-Hagger, a transfer from Mississippi State who was rated by espnW HoopGurlz as the No. 1 player from the state of Illinois in the 2023 recruiting class, was much more responsible with the basketball as she committed just two turnovers in 37 minutes during a 69-57 win over Southern University.

Brown-Hagger had three turnovers and three fouls in just 20 minutes of action on Sunday in an impressive 73-50 win over Southern Indiana.

“She was a lot more poised. She learned a lot from the last game about being poised with the basketball against that full-court press,” Illinois head coach Shauna Green said during her post-game interview on WDWS Radio. “She did a really good job of finishing possessions into something whether that was a basket, an assist or getting to the foul line where she was 7 of 7 today. She even got a three-pointer to finally go down and I know she’s been concerned about her shooting lately.”

Southern (2-11) lost its 11th consecutive game against Division I competition and its eighth straight game this season against a power conference opponent after having faced Oklahoma, Iowa State, Nebraska, Colorado, Texas, DePaul, North Carolina State and Washington all on the road before holiday break.

“We knew they were going to be a physical team and they weren’t going to be afraid of anything after the schedule they’d already played this season. You look at their schedule and it’s just insane so we knew we’d have to play well,” Green said. “Frankly, I didn’t think we played 40 minutes of consistent basketball, especially on the defensive end.”

Green was honored before the game Friday by becoming one of two all-time Illini head coaches to need just 77 games with the orange and blue to get to the 50-win total. With Illinois' win over Southern Indiana tied the record that was set by Theresa Grentz and after Sunday, Green now ranks sixth in all-time victories by Illini women's basketball head coach.

Illinois (10-2) allowed Southern to make 5 of 10 from three-point range and the Jaguars were able to get 20 points off the 18 turnovers from the Illini. The difference for Green’s squad on Friday afternoon was their ability to go 18 of 23 from the foul line and turning 16 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points.

“We simply have to be better defensive and we have to be better at taking care of the basketball,” Green said. “We can’t have 18 turnovers as we enter Big Ten Conference play or we will get beat.”

Green was not pleased with her seven-player rotation on Friday as Southern finished the first half shooting 13 of 24 from the field and 4 of 6 from beyond the three-point line.

The x-factor in the Illini win was senior wing Adalia McKenzie being able to provide 13 points along with a fourth quarter run that included seven points, a perfect 3 of 3 from the foul line, one steal and one assist.

“It’s like I’ve said all year about her. I was not in a smiling mood and it never fails how she can make me smile with the way she plays the game of basketball,” Green said. “She has a gift that even when I’m so angry at how the whole team is playing, she can get me out of that mood and lift her teammates up with the energy she provides.”

With the win Friday, Illinois has reached a double-digit victory total before Christmas for the first time since 2022-23 and for the just the second time since the 2006-07 season.

Southern, which as picked to finish second in the Southwest Athletic Conference preseason poll while receiving two first-place votes, got 10-point efforts off the bench by junior guard Taniya Lawson, a Texas Southern University transfer, and by senior guard Soniyah Reed.

Kendall Bostic provided 14 points and 15 rebounds in a 39-minute effort as the graduate student recorded her 63rd career game with a double-digit rebounding effort.

Illinois will now have seven days of preparation before it gets back into Big Ten Conference play at State Farm Center by hosting Oregon on Dec. 28 in a 2 p.m. CST tip on Big Ten Network-Plus.