Illinois women’s basketball held Jackson State to just 10 first-half points in an 86-43 victory to close out non-league play.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

December 19, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The non-conference finale for the Illinois women’s basketball program in the 2025-26 season was another defensive exhibition for the home team.

Illinois allowed Jackson State just 10 first-half points on its way to a dominating 86-43 victory on Friday night as they held the Southwestern Athletic Conference opponent to shoot just 27.3 percent from the field and just 4 of 27 shooting in the first 20 minutes of play.

The Illini’s blowout win represented the 12th straight game that Illinois has held an opponent under 70 points in a game and the current streak is 14 in a row that includes the two 2025 NCAA Tournament games from last March.

Illinois (11-1) made JSU pay for its open-court mistakes as the Illini got 24 points off 14 turnovers and 19 points off its ‘Phoenix’ action fast break. The Illini emptied the bench early in this contest after having five players record double-figure scoring efforts including second-year guard Aaliyah Guyton’s team-leading 13 points. Guyton, who was returning to action after missing the three games with a quad injury, was 4 of 6 from the field and a perfect 5 of 5 from the free throw line while also recording five rebounds and three assists in just 20 minutes off the bench.

Jackson State (2-8) didn’t record a point for the first five minutes and 45 seconds of action and by the time Derrica McCall connected on a contested three-pointer, Illinois had already built a 14-3 lead. Illinois would run out to a 25-5 lead after the first quarter and would go into the locker room with a 47-10 advantage. Friday night’s contest marks the sixth consecutive game where Illinois has held an opponent under 30 points in the first half.

Illinois head coach Shauna Green, who was just coming off earning her 200th career win in Division I college basketball, was able to use her bench in big stretches Friday night as a dozen Illini players either scored a point, recorded a rebound or shared an assist in the game. Green’s win on Friday matched the program’s best ever 12-game start to a season tying Jane Schroeder's 1981-82 squad.

Illinois will get back into Big Ten Conference play with a game at Mackey Arena against Purdue (7-4, 0-1) on Dec. 28. The Boilermakers, who haven’t won a NCAA Tournament game since 2017, are 0-2 against power conference opponents this season with a pair of blowout losses (76-35 at Kentucky and 104-56 at Michigan).

Illinois has won 13 road Big Ten games under Green’s leadership, tying for the second most of all Illinois women’s basketball head coaches.