No. 23 Illinois Headed for Road Test at Marquette

#23 Illinois at Marquette
Date | Time	Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023 | 2 p.m. CT
Location	Milwaukee, Wis. | Al McGuire Center
Live Stream	FloHoops | FloSports App | WATCH
Radio	Busey Bank Illini Sports Network | Listen | Varsity Network App
Live Stats	Sidearm Stats
Game Notes	Illinois | Marquette
2023-24 Stats	Illinois | Marquette
Record Books	Illinois | Big Ten WBB | NCAA WBB
Availability/Interviews	Morehead State Post-Game (11/7/23) | YouTube Playlist
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Social Media	@IlliniWBB  | @IlliniWBB  | Facebook  | YouTube

Head Coach Shauna Green

Career Record: 179-85 (.678), 10th season
Division I Record: 150-60 (.714), Eighth season
At Illinois: 23-10, Second season
Big Ten: 11-7

ABOUT THE OPPONENT

• Marquette went 21-11 last season, including a 13-7 mark in BIG EAST play. 
• The Eagles are picked to finish third in the league. 
• MU is off to a 1-0 start in 2023-24. 

ALL-TIME SERIES INFO

The meeting against Marquette marks the eighth in program history, with the Golden Eagles leading the series, 5-2. Illinois is 0-4 all-time at Marquette and last beat MU on March 22, 2010, in Champaign, 74-72 (OT). 

SEASON OPENERS

• The Illini have posted an all-time record of 32-18 (.640) in season openers & have won seven straight. 
• The Illini are 24-6 all-time (.800) when starting the season at State Farm Center (includes 2016 opener played at Parkland during SFC renovations). 

HAVE A NIGHT, GENESIS BRYANT

For the second time in as many seasons, Genesis Bryant has delivered a career-high night in the Illini's season-opening game. This season, Bryant scored 32 points on 75% shooting to go along with four rebounds and four assists. Bryant shot 10-for-11 from 2, 2-for-5 from 3 (12-for-16), and 6-for-7 from the free-throw line. Bryant is the first Illini to record at least 30 points in a game since Makira Cook scored 33 points at Indiana on Dec. 4, 2022. 

Bryant's game score of 26.8 was the top mark in NCAA women's basketball on Nov. 7. "Game score" is a metric that gives a measurement of a player's productivity for a single game. 

EXHIBITION EXPOSITION

No. 23 Illinois began the second year of the Shauna Green era in Champaign with a resounding 121-60 victory over Truman State in the team's lone exhibition game of the 2023-24 campaign. Green used the preseason game to give playing time to all 14 players, while 12 different scorers registered at least one point in the blowout victory, including eight Illini in double figures. 

The Illini converted 14 of their 26 3-point attempts, and they knocked down eight 3-pointers within the first 10 minutes of play. The Orange and Blue outrebounded the Bulldogs, 53-16, while scoring 26 second-chance points on 25 offensive rebounds. Illinois notched 11 steals and scored 31 points off turnovers, and the hosts registered 20 assists while shooting 55.8% from the field and 53.8% on 3-point attempts. 

Illinois is 2-0 in exhibitions since Green's arrival. 

ILLINI RANKED NO. 23 IN AP PRESEASON POLL

For the first time since the 1999-2000 campaign, Illinois women's basketball is ranked in the Associated Press Preseason Poll, coming in at No. 23 to begin head coach Shauna Green's second season at the helm.

The 2023-24 season marks the fourth time in program history that Illinois has appeared in the AP Preseason Poll. Prior to this year, the Illini had appeared ahead of the 1997-98 (No. 7), 1998-99 (No. 25), and 1999-2000 (No. 12) campaigns – all under Hall of Fame head coach Theresa Grentz.

COOK LANDS ON LIEBERMAN AWARD PRESEASON WATCH LIST

For the first time in Illinois women's basketball program history, a Fighting Illini player was named to the Nancy Lieberman Top-20 Preseason Watch List as Makira Cook was announced as an honoree on Oct. 16. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) have given the award annually since 2000 to the top point guard in the country. 

A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates. To be considered for this prestigious award, candidates must exhibit the floor leadership, play-making, and ball-handling skills of Class of 1996 Hall-of-Famer Nancy Lieberman.

NCAA COACHING LIMIT INCREASE

With the NCAA's coaching limit increase going into effect on July 1, Emily Durr and Jenna Giacone have been elevated to assistant coaches on Shauna Green's Illinois women's basketball staff. Durr adds on-court coaching duties in addition to her director of recruiting operations responsibilities, while Giacone adds on-court coaching duties on top of her director of scouting and player development role in year two on Green's Illini staff. 

Both Durr and Giacone followed Green from her previous stop at Dayton. Durr served one season as an administrative associate with the Flyers, while Giacone played six seasons under Green at UD. 

FIRST SEASONS AT A NEW SCHOOL

Shauna Green quickly took Illinois women's basketball out to a refreshing start and has sustained that success better than anyone. Green was one of 38 head coaches in their first season at a new school last season. The Illinois squad was one of just 10 programs under a new coach last season to have secured 20 or more wins and one of seven to make the NCAA Tournament. 

Cook Named to Naismith Women's Player of the Year Watch List

Preseason accolades continue to roll in for Illinois women's basketball senior Makira Cook, as the point guard has been named to the 50-player 2023-24 Jersey Mike's Naismith Women's Player of the Year Watch List. Cook is the third Fighting Illini player in program history to land on the Naismith preseason list. She joins Tauja Catchings and Susan Blauser, who were both selected to the list ahead of the 1999-2000 season.