Coming off of its best win of the 2023-24 season over No. 14 Indiana, Illinois women’s basketball looks to make even more noise as the regular season nears its end. The Illini travel to Iowa City, Iowa, with another upset on their minds, facing the vaunted No. 4 Iowa Hawkeyes and superstar guard Caitlin Clark.
The Hawkeyes lost in blowout fashion to the same Hoosiers by a score of 86-69. Thus, the Hawkeyes will certainly have vengeance on their mind. The Illini routed the Hoosiers at home by a score of 86-66 in a stunning upset in which they shot 52.5% from the field and 44.4% from three, and the result of the game was never truly in doubt, especially at halftime.
Indiana outscored Illinois in only one quarter, including a 26-11 advantage for the home team in the second quarter, pushing it to its only ranked win. It’s been a bumpy road for head coach Shauna Green’s team in her second season with the program, but things have begun looking brighter.
The Illini have won five of their last seven games and despite the challenges that the Hawkeyes will provide, the Illini have tape to study from last season. On New Year’s Day in 2023, the Illini knocked off the Hawkeyes with a 90-86 win, limiting Clark’s overall shooting to 11-27 from the field. However, she still hit 50% of her threes in the game — a mark the Illini will try to limit as they hope to pull off another upset.
Illinois has struggled with efficiency this year, but with the 52.5% field goal percentage against Indiana and a 54.4% mark against Penn State in their previous game, it could bode well, especially in hostile territory. Junior guard Adalia McKenzie has been extremely efficient from the field overall despite struggling from range this season.
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The most eye-catching statistic for McKenzie is her 4.9 rebounds per game, good for second on the team — an impressive mark for the 5-foot-10 guard. McKenzie also puts up 10.9 points a game, good enough for fourth on the team.
However, one of the biggest changes that has led to this hot stretch is fifth-year center Camille Hobby, who entered the starting lineup on Jan. 10 against Nebraska. Hobby has been hyper-efficient all season long, shooting 53.9% from the field and averaging 9.4 points while grabbing 4.7 rebounds per game.
As is true for all teams that visit the Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the Illini’s focus will likely be on Clark, who boasts per-game averages of a whopping 32.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 8.5 assists. As the nation’s leading scorer this season (32.4 PPG) and the NCAA’s all-time women’s basketball leading scorer, Clark will provide an extraordinary challenge for the Illini defense.
The Illini will take on the Hawkeyes, looking for their second-ranked win in their third-to-last game of the regular season. Tip-off is scheduled for noon in Iowa City, Iowa. Fans looking to watch can catch it on FOX Sports One.
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