No. --/24 ILLINOIS (17-6; 7-5) hosts Minnesota (9-13; 2-9)
Date | Time	Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023 | 2 p.m. CT
Location	Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center
Tickets	FightingIllini.com
Promotions	United As One Game | Jenna Smith Honored Jersey Ceremony
Live Stream	B1G+ App | bigtenplus.com | WATCH
Radio	Busey Bank Illini Sports Network | Listen | Varsity App | Sirius XM (Channels 158 or 196)
Live Stats	Statbroadcast
Printable Notes	Illinois | Minnesota
Record Books	Illinois | Big Ten WBB | NCAA WBB
Availability/Interviews	YouTube Playlist
Stats	Illinois | Minnesota
Shop	Online Store | Auctions
Social Media	@IlliniWBB  | #Illini  | @IlliniWBB  | Facebook  | YouTube

Head Coach Shauna Green

Career Record: 173-81 (.681), ninth year
Division I Record: 144-56 (.720), seventh year
At Illinois: 17-6, first year
Big Ten: 7-5

Series Notes vs. Minnesota

All-Time Record: Illinois leads, 40-31
Record in Champaign: 24-10
Streak:  W1
Last Meeting:  W, 70-57 in Minneapolis, Minn., on Jan. 15, 2023
Green vs. Opponent: 1-0

Jenna Smith Honored Jersey Ceremony

When the pre-game clock hits zero prior to Sunday's 2 p.m. CT game vs. Minnesota, Illinois Athletics will recognize Illini legend Jenna Smith with an honored jersey ceremony on the court. Smith donned the orange and blue from 2006-10 and currently ranks as Illinois' all-time leading scorer (2,160 points) and rebounder (1,217 rebounds). Smith collected three First-Team All-Big Ten nods across her career (2008, '09 and '10). With Smith on the team, Illinois registered a combined 68-63 record and made three deep runs in the WNIT, advancing to the third round or better in each.

United As One Game

In honor of Illinois women's basketball's first home game during Black History Month, the Illini will be hosting their United As One game. The social justice campaign, launched in 2020 by the Big Ten Conference, is an Equality Coalition Initiative. More information can be found HERE. Videos from the Big Ten of B1G Impact Pioneers will be played in venue or can be viewed HERE.

On Sunday, Illinois Athletics will play "Lift Every Voice and Sing" before the National Anthem. The hymn is a prayer of thanksgiving, as well as a prayer of faithfulness and freedom. The hymn originated as a poem by James Weldon Johnson amidst the Civil Rights Movement. "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was first recited by a group of 500 students in Jacksonville, Florida. After its first recitation in 1900, it was communally sung in black communities, and in 1917, the NAACP began to promote the hymn as the Black National Anthem.

Opening Tips

• Illinois opened its 49th season of women's basketball with a 6-0 record for just the fourth time in program history before suffering its first loss.
• Shauna Green is the first coach in program history to open her Illinois career with a 3-0 start and pushed the new mark a 6-0 start.
• The Fighting Illini secured a win in the ACC/B1G Challenge over Pitt (11/30/22) for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
• It took the 2022-23 squad just eight games to match the previous season's win total (7).
• The 2022-23 squad doubled the previous season's win total in just 16 games (14).
• Illinois won its scheduled Big Ten home opener for the first time since 2016-17 with an 80-62 victory over Rutgers on Dec. 7, 2022.
• With Illinois' home win over Rutgers, the Orange and Blue secured an 8-2 start through 10 games for just the 10th time in program history. 
• The Illini won 10 regular-season non-conference games for just the third time in program history, tying the program record.
• Illinois won its Braggin' Rights game at [RV] Missouri on Dec. 18 and now owns wins over teams from the ACC, Big Ten and SEC in the same season for the first time since 2014-15.
• Illinois won 11 games before Christmas (December 25th) for the first time ever and 10 games before then for the first time since 2006-07.
• The Illini received a vote in the WBCA Coaches Poll (12/27/22) - the first time receiving votes since 2010 from the WBCA.
• Genesis Bryant turned in the program's third triple double against Florida Atlantic and earned Big Ten Co-Player of the Week honors for her performance.
• With a win at Wisconsin on Dec. 29, Illinois improved to 2-1 in B1G play, the program's first winning record in conference since 2016-17.
• Illinois' New Year's Day upset of No. 12/10 Iowa marked the programs first win over a ranked team since 2019 and its first win of such at home since 2015.
• Illinois matched the best 20-game start in program history with a 16-4 record, marking the fourth time the program has achieved the feat.
• For the first time since 2013, Illinois Women's Basketball received votes in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 rankings (1/2/23)
• After a career-high 24 points over No. 12/10 Iowa, Genesis Bryant reeled in the awards, earning: B1G Co-Player of the Week, ESPN Player of the Week, NCAA Weekly Starting Five
• The U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) named Illinois its Team of the Week following the squad's upset of Iowa.
• Illinois began 9-0 at home this season - matching the fifth-longest home winning streak in program history - before suffering a loss to No. 6 Indiana.
• For the first time since the 2000-01 season, Illinois is ranked - debuting at No. 24 in both polls the week of Jan. 9 before climbing to No. 21 (AP) and No. 23 (USBWA) in the Week 11 poll and No. 22/22 across the Week 12 polls.
• No. 21/23 Illinois hosted No. 6/6 Indiana on Jan. 18 in the Illini's first home game as a ranked squad since Jan. 5, 2000. A crowd of 5,583 was on hand in State Farm Center for the top-25 matchup.
• Illinois' 10th home win of the season came on Jan. 29 over Michigan State in front of a crowd of 5,098 fans - the team's third home crowd of 5,000 or more this season.
• 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 (Dayton) . 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.

MINNESOTA STORY LINES

• Minnesota owns an 9-13 record on the season and 2-9 mark in Big Ten play.
• UM went 15-18 last season with an 7-11 mark in conference action.
• This season Minnesota gets 61 percent of its points per game from freshmen or redshirt freshmen. 

RETURN TO THE RANKINGS

For the first time since Nov. 27, 2000, Illinois Women's Basketball was ranked in the Associated Press (AP) Top-25 Rankings on Jan. 9, 2023. After 8,072 days, the Fighting Illini returned to the AP Poll at No. 24. A week later, the Orange and Blue climbed to No. 21 in the poll followed by No. 22 in the Week 12 poll. The Illini fell out of the top-25 in the latest AP poll but are No. 24 in the more recent WBCA Coaches Poll.

Illinois is off to a 17-5 start under first year head coach Shauna Green, one of the best starts in program history. Three of Illinois' five losses came by a combined 21 points against top-6 ranked Big Ten foes.

The Fighting Illini program has appeared in 66 AP Polls total across nine different seasons now. Shauna Green joins Theresa Grentz, Laura Golden and Jane Schroeder as Illini coaches to lead a ranked Illinois squad. Green is the lone coach to achieve a Top-25 ranking in her first year leading the program.

NEW YEAR'S DAY UPSET

Illinois welcomed a crowd of 4,803 fans into State Farm Center on January 1st, 2023 - its second largest women's basketball crowd of the season- for a New Year's Day battle against No. 12/10 Iowa that did not disappoint. With the help of a 31-point second quarter along with career-high scoring efforts from Genesis Bryant (24) and Kendall Bostic (17), the Illini secured the first win over a ranked team at home since 2015. The 90-86 victory over the Hawkeyes marked Iowa's first Big Ten loss of the season and Illinois' first ranked win over any sort in over three years.

Accolades and recognition continued to pour in during the following week, and can be found in the list below.

• U.S. Basketball Writers Association Team of the Week
• Receiving votes in the AP Top-25 Poll for the first time since 2013.
• Receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches Polls at the same time for the first time since 2010.
• SportsCenter highlights - WATCH
• Genesis Bryant ESPN Player of the Week
• Genesis Bryant NCAA Weekly Starting Five
• Genesis Bryant repeated as Big Ten Co-Player of the Week

BRYANT'S TRIPLE DOUBLE LEADS TO B1G HONORS

Following just the second start of her collegiate career, Illinois junior transfer Genesis Bryant turned in a triple-double performance, etching her name in the record books and earning herself Co-Big Ten Player of the Week honors. Bryant's award marks the first Player of the Week award by the Illini women's basketball program since the 2013-14 campaign. Bryant's triple double line read 20 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds - which also marked the first double double of her career. Her performance marked just the third triple double in Illinois program history and the second of the 2022-23 season by a Big Ten player.

Additionally, Bryant became only the sixth player in Big Ten history to score 20 points in a points/rebounds/assists triple-double, and third since 2009-10 (four by Iowa's Caitlin Clark last year; one by Michigan State's Tori Jankoska in 2016-17).

FIRST NET RANKINGS OF 2022-23

• With a 7-2 start, Illinois came in at No. 19 in the first NET rankings of 2022-23 and is currently No. 35. 
• In the same rankings a year prior, the Illini were No. 193 - marking a 174-spot difference in the first poll of the season.
• Big Ten Conference led all Division I conferences with five teams in the top 20 and 10 schools among the top 50 in the first report.

  • Current B1G NET rankings are: No. 5 Indiana, No. 9 Iowa, No. 11 Ohio State, No. 16 Michigan, No. 21 Maryland, No. 35 Illinois, No. 37 Purdue, No. 38 Nebraska, No. 41 Michigan State, No. 79 Penn State, No. 110 Minnesota, No. 115 Northwestern, No. 125 Wisconsin, and No. 148 Rutgers. 

• The NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) is the primary sorting tool used for determining NCAA Tournament teams.

NAME OF THE GAME IS DEFENSE

Illinois women's basketball has instilled the goal of holding opponents to 10 points or less per quarter. Through 23 games, Illinois has limited opposition to 10 or less points in 14 of 92 chances. Opponents have been held at/below 15 points in 48 of those 92 periods.  

BEST STARTS TO A SEASON

In the first season under Shauna Green, Illinois women's basketball tied the second-best start in program with a 6-0 mark before suffering a loss. The Illini's start was the best for the program in 35 years.

FIRST SEASONS AT A NEW SCHOOL

Shauna Green has quickly taken Illinois women's basketball out to a refreshing start. Green is one of 38 head coaches in their first season at a new school this season. Additionally, Green's 6-0 start put her in elite company. The following are teams that have secured a better start than Illinois - just two.