Green, Dolan Return to Buffalo as #19 Illini Visit Canisius

#19/19 Illinois at Canisius
Date | Time	Monday, Dec. 2, 2024 | 5 p.m. CT
Location	Buffalo, N.Y. | Koessler Athletic Center
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Rosters	Illinois | Canisius
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Head Coach Shauna Green

Career Record: 203-101 (.668), 11th season
Division I Record: 174-76 (.696), Ninth season
At Illinois: 47-26 (.644), Third season
Big Ten Record: 19-17 (.528), Third season

OPENING TIP

The 51st campaign of Illinois women's basketball continues with No. 19 Illinois traveling to Buffalo, New York to face head coach Shauna Green's alma mater, Canisius. The No. 19-ranked Fighting Illini will visit the Griffins Monday night at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN+. 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.
• The Fighting Illini have now been ranked in the Top 25 in all three seasons under Green with the highest ranking (#19) coming in the Nov. 25 poll.
• Illinois returned four 1,000-career point scorers, tied for the most in the NCAA with Baylor, Notre Dame, and Kansas State. All four have now scored 1,000 points as Illini as well.
• Illinois' seniors (Cook, Bryant, McKenzie, Shoup-Hill, Bostic) have a combined 383 career starts (357 at Illinois) and played a combined 525 games (397 at Illinois).
• Illinois has led for a total of 235:22 this season through seven games, while  trailing for 31:45.
• Head coach Shauna Green earned her 200th win as a head coach on Nov. 14, 2024 vs. Eastern Illinois.
• The Illini have held opponents at/below 15 points in 21 of 28 regulation periods.
• Illinois started the season 6-0 for the second time under head coach Shauna Green.
• Seven different Illini scorers have posted double-digit points in a game this season: Bostic, Bryant, Brown-Hagger, Cook, Dolan, McKenzie, Shoup-Hill. 
• 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 CANISIUS

Canisius enters Monday night's game with a 1-5 record on the season under first-year head coach Tiffany Swoffard. The Griiffs' win came at St. Francis before losing their last three outings.

ALL-TIME SERIES INFORMATION

Monday's contest between Canisius and Illinois marks the second-ever meeting between the sides. The Illini lead the series 1-0 following a 90-58 win in Champaign during the 2023-24 campaign.

ILLINOIS DEFEATS UMES, FALLS TO #14 KENTUCKY AT MUSIC CITY CLASSIC

The No. 19-ranked Fighting Illini went 1-1 at the Music City Classic in Nashville, Tenn., from Nov. 26-27. Illinois took down Maryland Eastern Shore, 75-55, on Nov. 26 before falling to #14 Kentucky, 76-53, on Nov. 27 in the team's first loss of the season.

In the win over UMES, Genesis Bryant posted a game-high and season-most 27 points, her first outing with 20+ points this season. After reaching double figures in the first quarter, Bryant went 4-for-5 from 3-point range and 11-from-14 from the free-throw line. She also totaled five assists and two rebounds. Kendall Bostic secured her third double-double of the campaign with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Makira Cook added 15 points.

The Illini and the Hawks squared off in a very physical battle that featured a combined 55 fouls and 55 free-throw attempts.

The Illinois victory moved the Orange and Blue to 6-0 on the season, the team's second 6-0 start under third-year head coach Shauna Green.

In the setback against the ranked Wildcats, Adalia McKenzie registered a team-high 18 points while going 10-for-12 from the free-throw line. Kendall Bostic made her 100th consecutive start, recording her fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

DOLAN RETURNS HOME FOR CANISIUS CONTEST

Sophomore Gretchen Dolan – a native of Buffalo, New York – returns to her hometown when Illinois takes on Canisius on Dec. 2.

Dolan's mother, Kristen, and sister, Hannah, both played basketball for the Golden Griffins. Her father, Michael, is a sports medicine professor at Canisius.

COACH GREEN FACES HER ALMA MATER

For the first time in her career as both an assistant and head coach, Shauna Green (the former Shauna Geronzin), coached against her alma mater, Canisius, on Sunday, Nov. 26. The Illini won, 90-58.

Illinois will make a return trip to Canisius in 2024-25 with a game slated for 5 p.m. CT on Monday, Dec. 2.

Wearing No. 34 for the Griffs from 1998-2002, Green scored 2,012 career points, the most of any men's or women's player - a record which still stands. She also became the program's all-time leading rebounder with 910 boards - a mark that now ranks second. Green was named 1999 MAAC Rookie of the Year and was also voted 2002 Canisius Female Athlete of the Year. She was a four-time All-MAAC selection and three-time All-MAAC First-Team honoree. She was enshrined into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

ILLINI EARNS #19 RANKING IN AP POLL, THE HIGHEST MARK OF COACH GREEN'S TENURE

Fighting Illini women's basketball is ranked in the Associated Press Top-25 Poll for the third consecutive week, coming in at No. 19 in the Week 4 listing. The Orange and Blue hold a 5-0 record and an NCAA-best 10-game winning streak.

The highest Illinois has been ranked under Green is this week's No. 19 mark, while the previous high of No. 21 came back during the 2022-23 campaign. The highest ranking in program history is No. 5, which came on Dec. 8, 1997.

Illinois has been ranked in eight combined AP polls under Green. In 2022-23, the Illini appeared in four Top-25 polls, followed by the preseason rankings in 2023-24, and most recently the Week 2-4 polls in 2024-25.

The Illini have now appeared in 71 AP polls all-time across 11 different seasons.

BOSTIC EARNS FIRST-CAREER B1G PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD (NOV. 25)

Kendall Bostic delivered a spectacular Week 2 performance on the court to earn the first Big Ten Player of the Week award of her career. The fifth-year senior led the Illini to a 2-0 week after averaging 28 points, 10 rebounds, and one steal while posting zero turnovers as the Fighting Illini climbed to 5-0 after downing their third 2024 NCAA Tournament team of the season.

The Kokomo, Ind., native shot 83.9% from the floor on 26-of-31 attempts and connected on all four of her free-throw attempts. No other Big Ten player was more efficient at a high volume than Bostic, as she made more combined field goals across the week (26) than all but two Big Ten players attempted. Additionally, she was the only Big Ten player with two 20-point games during the week.

In the Illini's first game of the week, a blowout win over Le Moyne on Nov. 18, Bostic registered the 36^th double-double of her career, scoring 25 points (11-for-13 FG) and grabbing 12 rebounds in 23 minutes of action.

In Illinois' handing of Oregon State on Nov. 22, Bostic became just the fourth player in program history to score 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds as an Illini. Bostic is also now second on Illinois' career rebounding list (1,045). She scored a career-high 31 points in the victory over the Beavers and grabbed eight rebounds in 32 minutes of work.

BIG NIGHTS FROM BOSTIC, COOK HELP ILLINOIS DEFEAT OREGON STATE

#22 Illinois continued its strong start to the season with an 85-66 win over Oregon State at State Farm Center on Nov. 22. Never trailing in the contest, the Fighting Illini closed its five-game season-opening homestand with a 5-0 record behind double-digit outings from three Orange and Blue scorers.

Kendall Bostic finished with a career-high 31 points and recorded the 1,000th point of her Illinois career during the contest while shooting 15-for-18 from the field and grabbing eight rebounds. Genesis Bryant tallied all 12 of her points in the second half, and her final bucket of the game saw her reach 1,000 points scored as an Illini.

Makira Cook equaled her season-best scoring total with 20 points.

ILLINOIS WINS ALL FIVE GAMES DURING SEASON-OPENING FIVE-GAME HOMESTAND

Beginning the 2024-25 regular season with a stretch of five home contests, the Fighting Illini took care of business and went 5-0, which saw the Illini earn wins over three 2024 NCAA tournament teams.

Illinois started the campaign with a ranked victory over #19 Florida State (Nov. 7) before defeating Marquette by double digits three days later. Triumphs over Eastern Illinois (Nov. 14) and Le Moyne (Nov. 18) followed, and the Orange and Blue concluded their homestand with a dominant 19-point win over an Oregon State team that advanced to the Elite 8 at the 2024 NCAA tournament.

The victory over the Beavers (Nov. 22) helped the Illini improve to 5-0 on the season, marking the second 5-0 start under third-year head coach Shauna Green.

ILLINOIS OWNED LONGEST ACTIVE WINNING STREAK IN NCAA DI WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

The Fighting Illini's 11-game winning streak, which includes the final five games of the 2023-24 season and the first six games of the 2024-25 campaign, ranked first among all NCAA Division I women's basketball teams in the country. Illinois clinched its 11^th win of that streak on Nov. 26 against Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) on Nov. 26 in Nashville, Tenn.

Illinois' journey to the inaugural WBIT title saw the Illini pick up five wins to conclude the 2023-24 season, and the team's 5-0 start to their 2024-25 slate has pushed that winning streak to 10 games.

The Illini's 11-game winning streak set a new longest winning streak in program history as well, surpassing the previous record of 10 games.

ALL-TIME FIELD TRIP DAY GAMES

Illinois has hosted the promotional event every season besides the COVID year since 2016-17.

DOMINANCE AGAINST THE DOLPHINS

In front of the third-largest crowd in program history, Illinois cruised to a 94-25 victory over Le Moyne on Field Trip Day on Nov. 18. A crowd of 13,486 fans filled the stands at State Farm Center to watch the Illini post a dominant 69-point victory over the visiting Dolphins.

Illinois' 69-point margin of victory was the fourth-largest mark in program history, while the Illini's 25 points allowed were the fewest-ever in a home game.

Four Illini scorers finished in double figures: Kendall Bostic (25 pts, 12 reb), Gretchen Dolan (15 pts, 7 ast), Adalia McKenzie (14 pts, 5 ast, 5 reb), and Jasmine Brown-Hagger (13 pts, 4 ast). All 10 players who dressed for the game earned playing time in the win. The squad combined for 26 assists.

TOP HOME ATTENDANCES

Fighting Illini head coach Shauna Green has reenergized the women's basketball fan base and delivered two of the top five home attendances in program history through just 70 games at Illinois. Green's teams have drawn attendances of 13,486, 11,563, and 8,141 across the last three seasons - all three are in the top 13 of all-time largest home game attendances for the program.

The 2024 game vs. Le Moyne that drew 13,486 fans set a new single-game attendance record for home nonconference games at Illinois.

COACH GREEN SECURES 200TH CAREER WIN

Fighting Illini women's basketball head coach Shauna Green won the 200th game of her career on Nov. 14, 2024, with an 84-37 victory over Eastern Illinois. Of the 200 wins, Green won 44 of those as the head coach at Illinois. Green tallied 127 victories at Dayton (2016-22) and the first 29 tallies came during her tenure at Loras College (2005-07).

In terms of wins with her current assistant coaches, 126 victories came with DeAntoine "Cat" Beasley on the bench, followed by 123 with Calamity McEntire, 22 alongside Britney Anderson, 22 with Emily Durr as an assistant (70 total with her on staff), and three of those wins were accompanied by Liza Fruendt.

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 Nov. 7. 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 Nov. 7. 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 Nov. 7, 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 Illinois' win over the Seminoles solidified that three-season streak.

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. All foUr (Bostic, Bryant, Cook, McKenzie) have now scored 1,000 during their Illini tenures as well.

To date, 34 Fighting Illini players have scored 1,000 points during their career at Illinois, and only four players have scored 1,000 points and grabbed 1,000 rebounds at Illinois. Kendall Bostic became the fourth player in program history to join the 1,000/1,000 club as an Illini, earning a spot on the exclusive list that features Jenna Smith, Karisma Penn, and Cindy Dallas.

THE SHAUNA GREEN EFFECT

The Illini's 41 overall wins in Green's first two seasons were 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. With 13,486 fans in attendance for Field Trip Day, Illinois' season average is up to 5,702 per game through five contests.

CONTRACT EXTENSION

Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman announced a two-year contract extension for women's basketball head coach Shauna Green, which was approved 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 Green, Illinois owns a 47-26 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.