Fighting Illini Return to State Farm Center for Sunday-Night Clash vs. Marquette

Illinois vs. Marquette
Date | Time	Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024 | 7 p.m. CT
Location	Champaign, Ill. | State Farm Center
Tickets	Single-Game | Season
Promotions	WBIT Celebration | 2024 WBIT Championship Banner Unveiling | Free entry with a ticket from football vs. Minnesota
Digital Game Programs	All Publications | Marquette Game
Watch	Big Ten Network | FoxSports.com/live/btn | Fox Sports App
Radio	Busey Bank Illini Sports Network | Listen | Varsity Network App
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Rosters	Illinois | Marquette
Stats	Illinois | Marquette
Game Notes	Illinois | Marquette
Record Books	Illinois | Big Ten WBB | NCAA WBB
Availability/Interviews	Florida State Postgame Press Conference (11/7) | YouTube Playlist
Shop	Online Store | Auctions
Social Media	@IlliniWBB  | @IlliniWBB  | Facebook  | YouTube

Head Coach Shauna Green

Career Record: 198-100 (.664), 11th season
Division I Record: 169-75 (.693), Ninth season
At Illinois: 42-25 (.627), Third season
Big Ten Record: 19-17 (.528), Third season

ILLINI ON TV

Illinois will play its first game on national television when Marquette comes to town on Sunday night, with first tip slated for 7 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network. The contest will be the first of eight regular-season games that the Illini are currently set to play during the 2024-25 campaign:
» Nov. 7, 7 p.m. CT, vs. Marquette - Big Ten Network
» Dec. 8, 3 p.m. CT, at Ohio State - Big Ten Network
» Dec. 31, 12 p.m. CT vs. Washington - Big Ten Network
» Jan. 23, 7 p.m. CT, at Northwestern - Big Ten Network
» Jan. 27, 7:30 p.m. CT, vs. Purdue - Big Ten Network
» Feb. 16, 4 p.m. CT, vs. Nebraska - Big Ten Network
» Feb. 20, 8:30 p.m. CT, at UCLA - Big Ten Network
» Feb. 23, 3 p.m. CT, at USC - Fox Sports 1

OPENING TIP

The 51st campaign of Illinois women's basketball continues with Illinois hosting Marquette on Sunday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network  from State Farm Center. Mike Koon will call the action for the Illini on the Busey Bank Illini Sports Network (1400 AM / 93.9 FM). Streaming, audio, and stats links are also available at FightingIllini.com/wbb. 

• Illinois has earned a win over a ranked opponent for the third consecutive season under Green.
• Illinois returns four 1,000-career point scorers, tied for the most in the NCAA with Baylor, Notre Dame, and Kansas State.
• Illinois' starters last game (Cook, Bryant, McKenzie, Shoup-Hill, Bostic) have a combined 359 career starts (333 at Illinois) and played a combined 501 games (373 at Illinois).
• The Fighting Illini return eight players from last year's WBIT Championship team while adding six newcomers - four freshmen and two transfers - into the mix.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT

The new-look Golden Eagles make their first trip to Champaign since 2010, when the Illini hosted Marquette for a WNIT matchup. Led by first-year head coach Cara Consuegra, who joined the squad after spending the previous 13 seasons at Charlotte, the Golden Eagles sit at 0-1 heading into Sunday's contest.

Marquette brought back five letterwinners from last year's NCAA Tournament team, and the Golden Eagles made a splash in the transfer portal by adding six new faces to the program.

The Golden Eagles fell in their season opener, 57-50, at UCF on Thursday night.

ALL-TIME SERIES INFORMATION

The 2024 matchup marks the ninth meeting in the all-time series between Illinois and Marquette. Most recently, the sides met in Milwaukee during the 2023-24 season, with the Golden Eagles claiming a 71-67 victory on Nov. 11, 2023. Marquette leads the series, 6-2, with the first meeting taking place in 1997. The Illini hold a slight 2-1 all-time series edge in games played in Champaign.

ILLINOIS OPENS REGULAR SEASON WITH RANKED WIN

The Fighting Illini started the 2024-25 season with a statement win, taking down No. 19/19 Florida State, 83-74, at State Farm Center on Thursday night. Four Illini scored in double figures in the ranked nine-point win, including 20-point outings for both Makira Cook and Adalia McKenzie, while the home side never trailed in the contest.

Kendall Bostic (18 points) and Gretchen Dolan (11 points) also finished with double-digit points, which helped the Illini pick up a ranked win for the third consecutive season.

BOSTIC REACHES 1,000 CAREER REBOUNDS

Kendall Bostic became the fourth player in program history to reach 1,000 career rebounds with the Illini, achieving the feat during Illinois' 83-74 victory over No. 19 Florida State on Thursday night. Bostic joined Jenna Smith (1,217), Karisma Penn (1,043), and Cindy Dallas (1,014) on the exclusive list.

RANKED WINS CONTINUE TO ROLL IN

With the Illini's 83-74 season-opening victory over No. 19 Florida State on Thursday night, Illinois has now registered a win over a ranked opponent for the third consecutive season, the longest streak since the 2005-06, 2006-07, and 2007-08 campaigns.

The streak began on Jan. 1, 2023, when the Illini took down No. 12 Iowa, 90-86, for the program's first ranked win since 2019. Illinois defeated No. 16 Indiana on Feb. 19, 2024, in dominant fashion, 86-66, before Thursday's victory solidified that three-season streak.

TWO 20-POINT PERFORMANCES

Makira Cook and Adalia McKenzie each recorded 20 points in the Illini's 83-74 win over No. 19 Florida in the team's 2024-25 season opener on Thursday night. The two 20-point outings marked the first time the Illini achieved that feat since March 2, 2023.

Cook scored 20+ points for the 32nd time in her career, while McKenzie reached that tally for the 12th time. 

FLYING PAST THE FLYERS - EXHIBITION

Illinois opened its 2024-25 slate with an exhibition victory over Lewis, 80-53, on Nov. 1 at State Farm Center. Three Fighting Illini student-athletes scored in double figures, including a game-high 22-point effort from Kendall Bostic. All 12 Illini dressed for the game saw action. Attendance was called at 3,556. Green is 3-0 in exhibition games at Illinois.

PRESEASON WATCH LISTS

All three returning fifth-year Illini players landed on Naismith Award position watch lists ahead of the 2024-25 campaign. Makira Cook (Point Guard), Genesis Bryant (Shooting Guard), and Kendall Bostic (Power Forward) each earned spots on the respective 20-player lists. Cook also was recognized to the Jersey Mike's Naismith Women's Player of the Year Watch List and Preseason All-Big Ten list for the second-consecutive year. 

Freshman Berry Wallace was named to Shane Laflin's (Premier Basketball/ESPNW) 2024 NCAA Expected Impact Freshman List, featuring 10 college newcomers.

1,000 POINT SCORERS & REBOUNDING

Entering the 2024-25 campaign, Illinois has four players with 1,000+ career points scored. Makira Cook and Adalia McKenzie have surpassed 1,000 points in their time at Illinois, while Genesis Bryant and Kendall Bostic are within 100 points of achieving the feat as Illini.

To date, 32 Fighting Illini players have scored 1,000 points during their career at Illinois, and only three players have scored 1,000 points and grabbed 1,000 rebounds at Illinois. Kendall Bostic became the fourth player in program history to register 1,000 career rebounds as an Illini, joining an exclusive list that features Jenna Smith (1,217), Karisma Penn (1,043), and Cindy Dallas (1,014).

THE SHAUNA GREEN EFFECT

The Illini's 41 overall wins in Green's first two seasons are the program's most over a two-year span since the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 campaigns, when Illinois recorded 42 combined victories under Hall of Fame coach Theresa Grentz.

Illinois' 19 Big Ten regular-season victories over Green's first two seasons are the program's most over a two-year span since the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 campaigns, when Illinois totaled 20 conference wins under Hall of Fame coach Theresa Grentz. 

INAUGURAL WBIT CHAMPIONS

Illinois clinched the inaugural WBIT title in a 71-57 victory over Villanova at Hinkle Fieldhouse on April 3, 2024. The victory marked the program's first-ever postseason title.

After totaling five points through the first two quarters due to foul trouble, Makira Cook registered a game-high 27 points by pouring in 22 points in the second half. Shooting 7-for-11 from the floor over the final 20 minutes, Cook would be named the WBIT's Most Outstanding Player.

Genesis Bryant tallied 17 points in the championship and also finished the night with five rebounds and four assists. Kendall Bostic clinched a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds. All three seniors would be named to the WBIT All-Tournament Team and announce their decisions to return as fifth-years at Illinois.

Illinois was the only team in the WBIT field to win a game at home, on the road, and at a neutral site.

HOME ATTENDANCE NUMBERS

Across 15 home games during the 2022-23 season, Illinois Women's Basketball saw 52,295 fans fill the State Farm Center en route to a 12-3 record. That total attendance ranked 5th in program history and made Shauna Green the only head coach to bring in 50,000 or more fans in her first season with the Illini.

In Illinois' 2023-24 season - and home - opener, the attendance of 2,680 marked the largest ticketed season-opening crowd at State Farm Center since 2000 (3,954). In the Illini's 17 home games last season, Illinois finished with a combined attendance of 63,242 for an average of 3,720 a game. 63,242 is now the fifth-best all-time attendance.

Illinois' season-opener against Florida State drew a crowd of 3,741 to surpass last year's season-opening mark by over 1,000 fans.

CONTRACT EXTENSION

Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman announced a two-year contract extension for women's basketball head coach Shauna Green, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees at its Nov. 14 meeting. Initially, the new agreement will keep Green on a six-year contract through at least the 2029-30 season. The agreement also provides Green the opportunity to earn up to four additional one-year extensions if certain performance thresholds are met.

Under Coach Green, Illinois has compiled a 42-25 record, including a 19-17 mark in Big Ten play. In the first two years under Green, the Illinois women's basketball team registered 41 wins, the first-ever postseason championship in program history (2024 WBIT), and back-to-back top-five season attendances in State Farm Center. Over the last three seasons, Illinois has delivered three upsets of AP Top-20 ranked teams: No. 12 Iowa (1/1/23), No. 14 Indiana (2/19/24), and No. 19 Florida State (11/7/24).

FOREIGN TRIP

From August 2-12, the Illinois women's basketball team traveled to Europe for a foreign tour of Italy and Greece. The Fighting Illini grew on and off the court with exhibition games, educational tours, excursions, local cuisine, and authentic experiences on the schedule.

The WBIT championship run into April, 10 additional summer practices, and international exhibition games added extra opportunities for the team to grow and gel. 

On Aug. 4, the Illini earned a 67-65 victory over the Spain & Italy Select Team at a neutral court in Ponte Buggianese, Italy. Game two of the Illinois women's basketball foreign tour saw the Illini earn a 106-42 victory at Amilla Peristeriou on Aug. 9. The win moved the Fighting Illini to 2-0 on the trip, and Shauna Green is now 5-0 as the head coach in foreign tour games.

PRO ILLINI

Illinois women's basketball is represented at the professional level across multiple continents. Former Illini center Camille Hobby joined the professional ranks after spending her fifth year of college at Illinois. Hobby plays for PAOK in Greece. Adrienne Williams Godbold, a guard at Illinois from 2009-13, plays in the Puerto Rican BSNF for Hatillo. Brandi Beasley, a guard at Illinois from 2016-20, plays for CJS Geispolsheim in France. Brittany Carter, who played at Illinois from 2014-15, now plays for GIE Cibao Immortals in the Dominican Republic and was the 2024 league MVP. Rebecca Harris, a guard at Illinois from 2006-08, plays for the Bay Area Phoenix in the Women's Premier Basketball Association (WPBA), helping them to a championship. Harris has also played in the Athletes Unlimited League.