No. 19 Illinois (6-1) played three games in the past week and went 2-1. They beat Oregon State (2-5) and Maryland Eastern Shore (4-5) without problem, but got their first loss of the season against No. 14 Kentucky (7-0). The Illini’s week featured players having a very strong week and some having disappointing performances.
Genesis Bryant (C+): Fifth-year guard Genesis Bryant has had an up-and-down start to the season. She started slow, only scoring double digits once in the first four games. She’s been better lately, however, as fifth-year forward Kendall Bostic got to the double-digit points mark twice in three games.
Despite scoring more this past week, Bryant hasn’t been very efficient. Against Oregon State, she shot 3-13 from the floor. Yet, Bryant did bounce back the next game as she scored a season-high 27 points on an efficient 6-9 shooting. The guard looked smooth against Maryland Eastern Shore. She made four three-pointers and got to the free-throw line 14 times.
Bryant’s low grade comes primarily because of the third game of the week against Kentucky. She scored just one point and did not make a field goal. In a game where the Illini needed as much scoring as they could get, Bryant came up short. The fifth-year guard let the team down in the biggest game of the season so far. Until she can continuously shoot efficiently, the Illini will have to look elsewhere for consistent scoring.
Makira Cook (B): The other returning fifth-year guard Makira Cook played consistently well in the last three games. She scored 20, 15 and 11 against Oregon State, Maryland Eastern Shore and Kentucky, respectively. Her shooting has been efficient, making 44% of her shots over the three-game stretch.
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
Taking charge of the offense throughout most games, Cook has been a crucial part of the 6-1 squad. Despite all the prominent scorers on the team, she has found a groove. Cook is usually good for solid offense every game.
One thing that could be improved is her playmaking. Cook had eight assists against Oregon State, but since then, she has only had one. As she is the primary point guard leading the offense with the most possessions, more assists would be promising to see. However, Bryant is also a good playmaker and can take the reins when necessary.
Adalia McKenzie (B): Senior guard Adalia McKenzie has a very similar job as Illinois junior guard Kylan Boswell. She is often trusted to guard the best scorer on the opposing team. While she has been quieter on the offensive end, her defense continues to impress. The only thing better than her offense is her energy.
Against Kentucky, McKenzie brought exactly that: energy. Every time she had the ball in her hand, she found a way to do something, whether it was getting a bucket or drawing a foul. Despite shooting just 4-10, she scored 18 points. Most of her points came from the charity stripe, making 10 of her 12 attempts. She consistently drove to the rim and drew the contact.
McKenzie’s effort was the biggest factor as to why the game was tied at halftime. She led the team in scoring and stepped up in big moments. While the game didn’t go their way, McKenzie getting into a groove would be big for the upcoming games.
Brynn Shoup-Hill (B-): With many scorers on the team, senior forward Brynn Shoup-Hill doesn’t get many looks on offense. However, she plays her part well, getting rebounds and playing sound defense. She has double-digit rebounds in two of the last three games.
Her defense is also impressive. Against Kentucky, Shoup-Hill was asked to guard their best player, sophomore center Clara Strack, midway through the game. In the fourth quarter, she was held to just three points. Shoup-Hill is an important part of the starting lineup, and her lack of scoring is not a concern.
Kendall Bostic (B+): Fifth-year forward Kendall Bostic has been the best player on the team so far this year. She is averaging 16 points per game and over 10 rebounds per game. Her offense has been hot lately. She scored a career-high 31 points against Oregon State.
Her rebounding is just as good. Even though she went against some taller lineups recently, she is still getting most of the rebounds for the Illini. As she is undersized for the five, and many Big Ten teams are taller, this is good practice as conference games loom closer.
On defense, Bostic is usually quite stout. She held Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year senior forward Macy McGlone to just two points when they played earlier in the season. However, she struggled against Kentucky. 6-foot-5 Strack gave Bostic a lot of problems. She scored 25 in the game on Wednesday night, and most of those points came against Bostic. Bostic looked frustrated for most of the game, not having any success in stopping Strack.
Bostic is the last player to worry about on this roster. She consistently scores from multiple levels. One bad defensive game is not enough to warrant any concern with a player like her.
Gretchen Dolan (B-): Sophomore guard Gretchen Dolan is the first one off the bench every game for the Illini. With all the injuries, she has gotten starter minutes from the bench. Against Kentucky, she was the only player to come off the bench and get a lot of meaningful minutes.
Dolan is a good scorer, able to get to the rim and shoot the ball. However, she hasn’t done much of either this past week. She hasn’t cracked double-digit points since their victory over Le Moyne.
Coming off the bench, Dolan is primarily a scorer. If she isn’t scoring, then she isn’t helping the team as much as she could be. With most of the starters being very good on offense, there are fewer consequences for Dolan having off games. However, if she isn’t able to pick up the slack for the starters offensively, Illinois will have trouble winning games. With so many injuries, Dolan will be asked to do a lot off the bench until some players return.
Cori Allen (D+): With a thin bench unit, sophomore guard Cori Allen got a lot more opportunities on the court. In the four games before Kentucky, Allen averaged over 20 minutes per game. In those games, she scored four, four, zero and five points. Her minutes on the court have risen, but her effect on the games hasn’t.
Allen hasn’t gotten anything going over the past week, and head coach Shauna Green seems to have enough. Allen didn’t get any playing time against Kentucky. Getting benched when the team’s number of available players is only nine is not a good sign. As the Illini play a mid-major team next, Allen may get another chance to earn more minutes. If she doesn’t improve quickly, she might find herself stuck on the bench as the Illini get healthier.
Hayven Smith (D): Freshman center Hayven Smith has seen her minutes increase over the past week. However, it wasn’t by much, playing a total of 19 minutes in the last three games. Smith is the tallest available Illini at 6-foot-6. She hasn’t done much of anything in her limited minutes. Then again, she is a freshman, and any minutes at all are valuable for her future.
Mia Zenere (D): Freshman guard Mia Zenere is in the same boat as Smith. She played just 10 minutes in the last three games and didn’t play against Kentucky. Zenere hasn’t scored since Nov. 14 against Eastern Illinois University. Zenere will find minutes more and more difficult to come by as the Illini get healthier. The injuries are likely the only reason she has seen the court at all during her freshman year.
@ben_some16
