By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer
November 26, 2025
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In a game that most would consider ugly because of the offensive struggles of both teams, Illinois head coach Shauna Green would classify as a beautiful 70-41 win over Western Kentucky.
The fourth-year coach, who has consistently preached consistency on the defensive end of the floor, watched her team hold Western Kentucky to just 16 of 45 shooting from the field but also forced 25 turnovers as a first-quarter deficit turned into a blowout victory.
The Thanksgiving eve night affair was the first time Illinois has forced more than 20 turnovers since they defeated Southern Indiana 73-50 on Dec. 15, 2024.
“I think we could’ve even held them to less points than we did tonight because we had some breakdowns late in the shot clock,” Green said on her post-game radio interview with WDWS. “They made us pay early when we gave them second chances on the glass.”
Illinois (5-1) held Western Kentucky to just one field goal over the final seven minutes en route to Green’s 33rd victory in 34 games when her Illini team has held the opponent to less than 60 points.
Maddie Webber, who led Villanova in minutes played and three-pointers made while ranking second on the team in scoring, field goals made, assists, and blocks last season, matched a season-high total of 16 points off the bench as the 5-foot-11 wing hit four of the Illini’s seven three-point shots Wednesday night.
Western Kentucky (2-4) managed to crawl their way to a 12-10 lead after the first 10 minutes of action after Illinois had as many field goals as turnovers in the first quarter. The starts for the Illini in its last two wins haven’t been fantastic as they overcame a 21-9 deficit, trailing by 12 with two minutes and 31 seconds left in the first half and tying the largest comeback win under Green at Florida State just three days earlier.
“We haven’t seen a defensive zone, especially a trick one like that, all year so obviously we struggled with it,” Green said. “I thought we were way too passive with it until the fourth quarter when we got some drives into the paint.”
Berry Wallace, who is currently one of five players in the Big Ten Conference averaging over 20 points per game and at least five rebounds per game, finished with 16 points but needed 13 shot attempts to get to that figure.
Green has attempted to slowly work in Aaliyah Guyton, who is coming off a lower body injury, back into the rotation for the start of the 2025-26 season and the Iowa transfer via Peoria, Ill., had a successful 20-minute performance off the bench with four assists and only one turnover in the lead guard role to go along with eight points.
Western Kentucky’s 6-foot forward Torri James finished with 12 points as her ability on the perimeter caused matchup problems for the Illini bigs throughout the evening.
Illinois will take the holiday break and not be on the State Farm Center court again until they play Le Moyne (1-5) on Sunday for a 2 p.m. CST tip. The Illini defeated Le Moyne last November 94-25 in the second-largest margin of victory under Green.
