Illinois women’s basketball returns to action versus Ohio State
Photo courtesy of Della Perrone/Illini Athletics
Guard Adalia Mckenzie rushes past a Missouri opponent on Dec. 22. Since recovering from a Covid-19 outbreak, the Illini will be back playing against Ohio State on Thursday.
January 6, 2022
Due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the locker room, the Illini have not taken the court since Dec. 22 against the Missouri Tigers. Their last two scheduled matchups against Maryland and Iowa were postponed, but they’ll face off against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Thursday.
Illinois will come into this game at the Schottenstein Center with a 5-7 record (0-1 in the Big Ten). The Illini’s first Big Ten matchup of the year was on Dec. 9 against Michigan State, and this game versus the Buckeyes is the beginning of 17 straight conference meetings.
During the 84-65 loss to Mizzou back in December, De’Myla Brown and Sara Anastasieska were the standout performers. Brown put up a career-high 22 points and Anastasieska had a season-high 19 points. The Tigers are not only one of the best teams in the SEC, but they’ll certainly be a problem come March Madness, so the loss was nothing for Illinois to hang their heads over.
Moving onto Ohio State, the Buckeyes currently have a record of 9-3 (1-2 in the Big Ten). Much like Illinois, Ohio State have had their issues with COVID-19. Their last scheduled game against Penn State was postponed due to positive results within the Nittany Lions program, so they haven’t played since Dec. 31 versus Michigan.
The last time Illinois played Ohio State was last season at the State Farm Center. The Buckeyes were victorious by a score of 78-55, but Kennedi Myles led the Illini scoring with 15 points.
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The Buckeyes lost their last game 90-71 to a Wolverines team who are ranked No. 8 in the country. Although they’re unranked at 9-3, Ohio State has some players who will surely cause trouble for Illinois.
Junior guard Jacy Sheldon has led the Ohio State offense this year with 19.3 points per game, while shooting an outstanding 45.2% from deep. Along with Sheldon, senior guard Taylor Mikesell has been vital to the Buckeyes game plan this year, averaging 17.7 points per game.
Illinois will kick off this run of Big Ten matches in Columbus and will hope to start off official conference play on the right note against a talented Ohio State roster. The game will tip off at 6 p.m. on Thursday, as the game with be streamed live on B1G+, and you can listen to the game on 1400 AM / 93.9 FM.
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