Coming into the Daytona Beach Invitational this weekend, it was apparent that the Illinois women’s basketball team would have quite the challenge ahead of them. Illinois began its season with a four-game home stand in which they went 3-1 and faced subpar opponents for the most part. 

Down in Daytona, though, the Illini faced off against two solid opponents in Dayton and Middle Tennessee. Illinois dropped the first matchup on Friday against Dayton by a score of 67-53. 

For each of the Illinois wins so far this season, there has been one consistent factor: several members of the team contributing to the cause. Against Dayton, the offense struggled to get anything going throughout the 40 minutes of action.

De’Myla Brown led all scorers for Illinois with 12 points, as she drained three of her four attempts from downtown. Head coach Nancy Fahey was pleased not only with Brown’s shooting against Dayton but her effort levels on the defensive end as well, where she picked up two steals. 

“She just plays really hard every minute of the game and puts a lot of time in,” Fahey said. “It’s not something she just turns on for games; it’s who she is.”

Brown was the only scorer in double digits for Illinois, with Sara Anastasieska (9 points) and Adalia McKenzie (8 points) helping to keep the Illini within striking distance. But the team shot 35.1% from the field and an abysmal 50% from the free-throw line, which makes it tough to win against any opponent in the country.

The Illini did not have much time to think about their loss to the Dayton Flyers, as they were right back in action the next day versus the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders.

Yet Saturday’s matchup at the Ocean Center proved to be much the same for Illinois. During the 62-52 loss, they improved on their shooting percentage from the previous game, but there was only one player for the Illini in double-digit scoring. 

McKenzie scored 11 points on 4/7 shooting from the field, but Jada Peebles and Aaliyah Nye each fought off their cold symptoms to provide some points off the bench. 

Illinois has played a variety of opponents this season but none quite like Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders put up 41 3-point attempts, the second most by an Illini opponent in the program’s history. Even though Middle Tennessee only connected on eight of these attempts, it proved to be vital throughout the course of the game.

Whether it’s been Kendall Bostic, Nye or Peebles, Illinois has certain players on its squad who can step up any given night. If the Illini want to compete with a ranked Florida State come Thursday night in Champaign, they’ll need several players to have a career night.

@WillPayne33

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