| Illinois Starters Last Game (75-40 win vs. LIU) | ||||||||
| Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Yr. | PPG | RPG | APG | Note (vs. LIU) |
| G | 3 | Makira Cook | 5-6 | Jr. | 14.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 6-of-9 FG, 2-of-3 3-pointers |
| G | 12 | Jayla Oden | 5-9 | So. | 2.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 2 steals, 21 minutes |
| G | 24 | Adalia McKenzie | 5-10 | So. | 12.0 | 7.0 | 3.0 | 4 OReb, 6-of-10 FG |
| F | 23 | Brynn Shoup-Hill | 6-3 | So. | 0.0 | 8.0 | 0.0 | 6 OReb, 1 steal, 21 minutes |
| F | 44 | Kendall Bostic | 6-2 | Jr. | 16.0 | 11.0 | 0.0 | Career-high 16 points, double double |
Head Coach Shauna Green
Career Record: 157-75 (.677), ninth year
Division I Record: 128-50 (.718), seventh year
In Season Openers: 6-3 overall, 6-1 Division I
At Illinois: 2-0, first year
Big Ten: 0-0
Series Notes vs. Alcorn State
All-Time Record: Illinois leads 2-0
Record in Champaign: Illinois leads 1-0
Streak: Won 2
Last Meeting: W, 112-28 in Champaign, Ill., on 11-17-2013
Green vs. Alcorn State: First meeting
Opening Tips
• Illinois opened its 49th season of women’s basketball on November 9, with a 75-40 win over LIU
• The Illini have posted an all-time record of 31-18 (.633) in season openers and have won six straight openers.
• The Illini are 22-6 all-time (.786) when starting the season at State Farm Center (does not include 2016 opener played at Parkland during SFC renovations).
• Illinois has five returners on the 2022-23 squad, including: Jada Peebles, Jayla Oden, Geovana Lopes, Adalia McKenzie and Kendall Bostic
• Shauna Green brought in eight newcomers since being hired on March 21, 2022 – four freshmen and four transfers.
• Illinois’ transfers include: Genesis Bryant (NC State), Makira Cook (Dayton), Aicha Ndour (NW Florida State College) and Brynn Shoup-Hill. Those three programs went a combined 85-13 last season.
• Shauna Green‘s trio of assistant coaches are no strangers to her or each other. Green, Calamity McEntire, DeAntoine Beasley and Ryan Gensler were on the Dayton Women’s Basketball staff together for four seasons from 2017-21. With those four coaches leading from the sidelines, the Flyers posted a 79-34 overall record across four seasons.
Alcorn State Story Lines
• Alcorn State enters Sunday’s matchup with an 0-2 record, suffering road losses to Tulsa and Wichita State.
• In 2021-22, Alcorn State went 3-22 overall with a 2-16 mark in conference play.
• The Alcorn Braves’ roster for the new season welcomed seven new players to Lorman, including five junior college transfers, one graduate transfer from a Division I program and an international high school recruit.
SHAUNA GREEN ERA BEGINS WITH A WIN
• Illinois dominated in its regular-season opener, defeating Long Island, 75-40, in the team’s first game under head coach Shauna Green.
• Kendall Bostic recorded the seventh double-double of her career, recording a game-high and career-best 16 points and 11 rebounds
• Twelve different players registered minutes in the 35-point win, while five Illini recorded at least 10 points.
• Bostic (16), Makira Cook (14), Genesis Bryant (13), Adalia McKenzie (12) and Aicha Ndour (10) all contributed double-digit points for Illinois.
• The Illinois defense did not allow an LIU player into double-digit scoring – the first time no opposing player scored in double figures since Nov. 25, 2011, vs. Arizona State (Arizona State 51, Illinois 50).
• Seven Illini made their debut in the Orange and Blue in the win, including: Camille Jackson, Genesis Bryant, Makira Cook, Liisa Taponen, Aicha Ndour, Brynn Shoup-Hill and Samantha Dewey.