CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini women's basketball team opened up the 2021-22 season on Tuesday with a 73-56 victory over North Carolina Central at State Farm Center.
The Illini (1-0) were led by guard Aaliyah Nye who opened her sophomore campaign right where she left off as a freshman last season, pouring in a career-high 23Â points and pulling down seven rebounds to match her career-best total.
Sophomore forward Kendall Bostic, making her Illini debut after transferring from Michigan State in the offseason, posted the first double-double of her collegiate career. Bostic pulled down a career-most 17 rebounds and matched her career-high in scoring with 14 points.
The Eagles (0-1) were paced by senior forward Ashlyn Lockard who tallied 11 points and eight rebounds in the contest.
The Illini trailed for just 38 seconds in the contest, and used a 10-2 run following NCCU's opening bucket to stake to a 10-2 lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.
Next up, Illinois returns to the court on Sunday, hosting Miami (OH) at State Farm Center. Tipoff between the Illini and Redhawks is set for 3 p.m. CT. Â
TEAM NOTES
- The Fighting Illini improved to 1-0 to open the season and are now 5-0 in regular-season openers under head coach Nancy Fahey
- Illinois is now 1-0 all-time vs. North Carolina Central. The game was the first in the series between Illinois and Illini and the Eagles.
- The Illini welcomed 1,983 fans to State Farm Center for Tuesday's opener. It marked the team's first game with fans at State Farm Center since Feb. 26, 2020, a span of 622 days.
- Illinois' 73 points marked the most for the team in a victory since a 74-71 home win over Minnesota on Jan. 12, 2020.
- The Illini trailed for just 38 seconds in the contest, and led by as many as 20 points at the 3:57 mark of the third quarter.
- Illinois longest scoring run of the game was a 10-0 stretch that began with an Aaliyah Nye layup for the team's first basket of the game, and ended with a Geovana Lopes layup at the 5:39 mark of the first quarter to give the Illini a 10-2 lead they would never relinquish.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Sophomore G Aaliyah Nye recorded a career-high in points (23) and matched a career-best mark in rebounds (7). Defensively, Nye also tallied a career-high with seven of the team's 14 steals.
- Sophomore F Kendall Bostic posted the first double-double of her collegiate debut finishing with a career-high tying 14 points, and setting a new career best with 17 rebounds. Bostic's 17 rebounds are the most by an Illini player in a single game since former Illini Kennedi Myles pulled down 20 vs. Evansville on Dec. 15, 2019.
- Freshman G Jayla Oden led the Illini with a game-high five assists in her Illini debut. Oden also finished with nine points (including a pair of three-pointers), two rebounds, and two steals.
- Senior F Geovana Lopes finished with a career-high nine rebounds, eclipsing her previous mark of six, which she did four times as a junior in 2020-21. Lopes also matched her career-best totals with two assists and two steals.
- Junior G De'Myla Brown, who played at Western Kentucky as a freshman in 2019-20 before joining the Illini as a JuCo All-American out of Chipola College in the offseason, recorded seven points, her career-best mark vs. an NCAA Division I opponent.
PRESS CONFERENCE
HIGHLIGHTS
