CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Behind a career-high 32-point performance from Genesis Bryant, #23 Illinois took down Morehead State, 81-61, in its season opener at State Farm Center on Tuesday night.
Moving to 1-0 on the season, the Fighting Illini have now won seven consecutive season openers dating back to 2017.
The first starting lineup of head coach Shauna Green's second season at Illinois featured five familiar faces, with Kendall Bostic, Genesis Bryant, Adalia McKenzie, Jada Peebles, and Brynn Shoup-Hill earning a spot in the Illini's starting five.
Bryant shot 75% from the field, knocked down two 3-pointers, dished out a team-high four assists, and grabbed four rebounds. She missed just one of her 11 2-point field-goal attempts, and she finished her career-best outing with 33 minutes of action.
Bostic picked up right where she left off last season, recording a double-double with 15 points and a team-high 13 rebounds. Bostic also tallied three assists, a team-high two steals, and one block.
Kam'Ren Rhodes recorded a career-high seven points while playing 25 minutes, which also proved to be a career-best mark.
Shoup-Hill knocked down two 3-pointers and made a team-high two blocks and one steal, while McKenzie registered six points and notched two offensive rebounds.
Gretchen Dolan and Camille Hobby each finished their Illinois debuts with six points and a steal apiece.
The Illini shot 51% from the field, forced 19 turnovers, and registered 38 points in the paint.
Illinois started fast, scoring within the first 15 seconds of action to kickstart a 13-2 run to open the game. All five starters registered a bucket within the first four minutes of play during that stretch. Morehead State used a 9-2 run of its own to cut its deficit to four late in the frame, but the Illini closed the first quarter with five straight points to hold a 20-11 lead through 10 minutes of action.
The Illini started to get into a better flow offensively early in the second quarter, scoring on five consecutive field-goal attempts to go on a 15-2 run over a three-minute stretch. Leading by as many as 22 in the first half, Illinois eventually took a 44-24 advantage into the break.
Bryant led all scorers with 15 first-half points, while Bostic shot 100% from the field and nearly notched a first-half double-double with 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds. All four Illini newcomers recorded minutes in the opening half, while the Orange and Blue forced 12 turnovers and dominated the lane with 24 points in the paint through 20 minutes.
Illinois took advantage of its opportunities from the charity stripe, scoring 10 of its 18 third-quarter points at the free-throw line. Despite being outscored, 22-18, in the third period of play, Bryant's 10 points in the frame maintained the Illini's double-digit lead, 62-46, heading into the fourth quarter.
After the Eagles cut their deficit to 11 points with just under nine minutes to play, the Illini ended a six-minute spell without a field goal with a 9-0 run, capped off by back-to-back Bryant buckets. With three minutes to play, Bostic hit her first 3-pointer since joining the Illini, rounding out a 20-point Illinois victory.
The Orange and Blue will hit the road for their next game on Saturday, when Illinois travels to Milwaukee to take on Marquette (1-0). Opening tip is set for 2 p.m. CT, and the game will be streamed on FloHoops.
Notes
Player Notes
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Genesis Bryant scored a career-high 32 points on 75% shooting.
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Shot 10-for-11 from 2, 2-for-5 from 3 (12-for-16), and 6-for-7 from the free-throw line.
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Led all players at the half with 15 points.
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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.
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Kendall Bostic registered her first double-double of the season with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
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Scored the team's first points of the game (and the season).
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Double-double No. 19 of her Illini career.
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4-for-4 from the field and 3-for-3 from the FT line in the first half.
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Secured double-double of the season with 10th reb with 2:49 to play in the third quarter.
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Made her first 3-pointer since joining the Illini in the fourth quarter.
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Jada Peebles returned to the starting lineup and scored three points.
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Adalia McKenzie scored six points and grabbed two rebounds.
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Brynn Shoup-Hill scored six points and hit two 3-pointers.
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Scored six points while going 2-for-4 from the floor, including 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.
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Knocked down the team's first 3-pointer of the game/season.
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Secured three rebounds.
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Kam'Ren Rhodes tallied a career-high 7 points in a career-high 25 minutes of action.
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Cori Allen, Shay Bollin, Gretchen Dolan, and Camille Hobby all made their Illinois debuts.
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Bollin and Hobby came in with 4:09 left in the first quarter.
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Dolan came in with 3:10 left in the first quarter.
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Dolan scored her first-career points with 7:31 left in the second quarter (layup and free throw).
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Allen came in with 7:31 left in the second quarter.
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Hobby and Dolan finished with six points each in their Illini debuts.
Team Notes
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Illinois won the tip and opened the scoring 13 seconds into the game.
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Illini made 6-of-7 shots to start the game.
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All five starters registered a basket within the first 3:41 of the first quarter.
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The Illini led by as many as 22 points in the contest and led for a total of 39:23.
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The Illini posted two 9-0 runs in the game, in both the first and fourth quarters.
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Genesis Bryant (32) and Kendall Bostic (15) poured in double-figures for the Illini.
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Illinois scored 21 points off of 19 Morehead State turnovers.
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The Illini scored 11 second-chance points on 13 offensive rebounds.
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The Illini shot 51% from the field and 43% from 3.
Misc. Notes
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Starters: Jada Peebles, Genesis Bryant, Adalia McKenzie, Brynn Shoup-Hill and Kendall BosticÂ
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Shauna Green is now:
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Against Morehead State record: 1-1 (2nd meeting)
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Illinois is now 1-0 when wearing orange uniforms.
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The Illini are now 1-0 in games after 5 p.m.
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The Illini are now 1-0 in November.
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The Illini have won seven consecutive season openers.
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Tonight's attendance of 2,680 makes it the largest season-opening crowd at State Farm Center in a non-Field Trip Day game since 2000 (3,954).
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2019's season opener was played on a Field Trip Day and had an attendance of 4,189.
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Largest crowds in a season opener at State Farm Center since 1999:
- 4,189* - 2019
- 3,954 - 2000
- 2,680 - 2023
- 2,364 - 2018
- 2,204 - 2002
Quotes
Opening statement:
"There was a mixture of everything in this game, but we won. We went 1-0. Was it perfect? No, but it is our first game and we played a lot of different lineups that we have not played. We are going to take this. This is going to be a really good learning experience for us, and that is what we just talked about in the locker room. We are going to take this and break it down, but there are certain things that we need to be better at. We know that. Now, it's about putting it into action."
On Kam'Ren Rhodes' career-high night:
"I thought Kam was really great tonight. If you talk about how far she has come in a year, I don't know if, last year at this time, she would be able to do that. That just shows what a year of experience does. The thing I love about Kam is last year when she was not playing a lot, every day she was in there doing something. She was in with Coach Mac. She was watching film. She was working on her game.
"She is a kid who just continued to stay ready, so now, she does not have to get ready. She was ready to go, and I told her the other day, 'You are ready for this because your preparation has been elite, and now you are ready to go.' She came in tonight, played 25 minutes, went 3-for-6, three rebounds, seven points. That's a pretty good line. My thing with her is always run the offense, defend, and take care of the basketball, and she did that."
On the importance of Orange Krush and the impact that they have:
"Orange Krush was great. For a game on a Tuesday night, one of our earlier games, not one of our bigger Big Ten games, I thought there was a great showing tonight. That's why I wanted to give them a special shoutout after the game. They are a difference-maker, and I keep telling them that.Â
"We need them. We need them out. I love everyone who was out there tonight."
On hitting her first 3-pointer since joining the Illini:
"I have been working on that a lot with Coach Cat this offseason, just getting used to a catch-and-shoot three and a popback three. Being able to hit that in a game, it boosted my confidence a lot because I hit them in practice, but that game atmosphere is very different. There are extra nerves. People are flying at you. Being able to hit that, I think, will help me build that confidence for the rest of the season."
On playing alongside Camille Hobby:
"I like it a lot. It gives me a little bit of a break. I have always said that being a 5 is a different kind of tired because you are constantly banging around physically, trying to hold people off. Playing the 4 gives me a little bit of a break. I like being able to float down on the perimeter a little bit. It gives me a chance to guard people out there.
"In terms of playing with Hobby, we are working on it in practice. We get a lot of high-lows in practice when we get to play together, so obviously, that will come through the season, but she has been really good to work with. I think it's going to be really good once we get more comfortable playing with each other."
On building on her role from last season:
"We are just taking every day and every game with the same mindset. We are just trying to go 1-0. Makira holds a lot of weight in our team, so her going down like that, it's just the next woman up. Everyone has to step up into a bigger role. As a team, I feel like we did good with that and handled our business."
On being able to drive to the basket after going 10-for-11 on 2-point attempts:
"I think my first two threes, I did not really feel that comfortable, so I wanted to get myself warmed up a little bit. We knew based on the way they played on ball-screens, they sag a little bit, so I had me and the big going one-on-one. I was just building that confidence going to the rim, but I was like, 'If it's not broken, why fix it,' so I just kept doing it."
