Coming off of a one-sided exhibition victory over Quincy, Illinois women’s basketball looks to carry that momentum into their regular season opener against LIU. This outing marks the start of a five game home stretch for the Illini.

With just five returners from last year’s squad, many are curious to see how the new-look Illini will operate, making last Friday’s exhibition against Quincy nothing if not encouraging.

Included in the turnover of last year’s roster was the transfer of Illinois’ 2021-22 leading scorer, Aaliyah Nye. It was not abundantly clear who would step up as the Illini’s number one option ahead of the season. Fortunately for the Illini, it appears they may have more than one person gunning for the most touches as both sophomore guard Adalia McKenzie and junior guard Genesis Bryant had 21 and 25 points against Quincy, respectively.

In her first year, McKenzie made just one three pointer on 14 attempts, but against Quincy was 2-2 from deep. Additionally, McKenzie dropped seven of her eight attempts at the free throw line, a significantly higher rate than her 57.6% mark last season. As one of the five returners, McKenzie may get first dibs on being the first option, especially if her three point shot has improved as much as the exhibition match suggests.

Bryant transferred to Illinois after struggling to get significant playing time as a sophomore at NC State. If her performance against Quincy is anywhere close to the norm, Bryant will have no problem getting playing time at Illinois as she seems to be the best volume shooter on the team. Bryant knocked in five threes on just seven attempts against Quincy en route to a game-high 25 points.

Another bright spot for the Illini is the return of junior forward Kendall Bostic, who led the Big Ten in rebounding last year. On top of her value on the boards, the match against Quincy would suggest Bostic has taken her defense to another level. Bostic accrued 19 blocks across 27 games last season for an average of 0.70 blocks per game, whereas in the single match against Quincy she blocked five shots.

After Nancy Fahey’s retirement last March, Illinois brought in Shauna Green from Dayton to be the head coach of women’s basketball. Since then, Green has brought in three assistant coaches that were on the Dayton staff during her tenure. Those four had a record of 79-34 during their time together and now look to bring that level of winning to Illinois.

Illinois women’s basketball kicks off their season at State Farm Center this Wednesday against LIU, looking to start their season on a high note.

@blountco21
[email protected]