The Illinois women’s basketball team had no dress rehearsals ahead of the 2021-2022 campaign, as the new-look Illini team hopped right into action on Tuesday against the North Carolina Central Eagles.

Illinois were victorious, 73-56, in their season opener at the State Farm Center, with the home team shooting 38% from the field, while knocking down 6 threes.

Illinois led for nearly the entire 40 minutes, but there were clear cobwebs in the Illini’s offensive game plan. At times, they struggled to break down the Eagles’ press, which led to an astounding 25 turnovers on the day.

Sophomores Aaliyah Nye and Kendall Bostic were the standout performers for Illinois. Nye led the Illini scorers with 23 points, while Bostic put up a 14-point, 17-rebound double-double in her debut.

Last season, Nye played a key role for the Illini, averaging 8.1 points per game, shooting a team-best 35% from three. With Jeanae Terry and Kennedi Myles no longer with the program, it was essential that certain members of the squad start to take on some of the offensive load.

Nye’s 23 points were not only a game high, but an Illinois career high. The East Lansing native was pleased with her first game of the year but gave credit to the rest of her teammates for helping her fill up the stat sheet.

“I knew we had to get something; I knew we could not let them keep going on runs,” Nye said. “Whoever got the ball had to take care of it and make that shot. I did feel like I had to make shots, but everyone helped out as well.”

The Illini pulled away in the third quarter after back-to-back threes from Nye and some strong buckets at the rim from Bostic. After her fifth season opener as Illini head coach, Nancy Fahey was happy to see this surge early in the second half and hopes to see more of it during the following games.

“During that run, we started executing some plays where the kids collectively did a really good job of passing the ball, setting ball screens,” Fahey said.

Bostic spent her freshman year with the Michigan State Spartans, but she looked right at home during her first game with the Illini. Bostic’s double-double displayed her dominance both in the paint and on the boards.

Last year, Bostic was somewhat of a nonfactor during her time with Michigan State, putting up 4.2 points per game and 2.9 rebounds. While with the Spartans, Bostic showed signs of her potential on different occasions, such as her 13-point performance in the Big Ten tournament semifinal against Iowa.

Despite both teams ending square at 48 for the rebounding battle, Bostic’s 17 proved to be vital in Illinois’ victory. The sophomore transfer knows how important crashing the boards is and hopes the rest of the squad can get even better at rebounding as the season progresses.

“I pride myself in my rebounding,” Bostic said. “I think it’s an effort thing. An offensive board gets the team going, so I really try to get some offensive boards, and the team has started to do it more in practices which is what we want.”

The 1-0 Illini are back in action this Sunday at the State Farm Center against the Miami (Ohio) Flyers. Tipoff is at 3 p.m., and you’ll be able to watch Nye and Bostic look to continue Illinois’ winning ways on B1G+.

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