Illinois women’s basketball (8-2) will continue its home stand against Southern Indiana (8-2) on Sunday. It will be the first-ever matchup between the two teams. The Illini are coming off a 70-52 victory against Bradley (5-3). The game is the second to last before the Illini begin conference play on Dec. 28.
The competition
While Southern Indiana is a mid-major, it’s a tough team. Its 8-2 record is good for best in the Ohio Valley Conference. Southern Indiana’s only losses came against No. 17 Louisville (6-4) and Indiana (7-3). The Screaming Eagles have a scoring margin of 18.1, beating their opponents soundly. They’ve won five of their games by 25 or more points.
On offense, three players average over 11 points per game. As a team, they shoot an impressive 45.2% from the floor and 38.6% from beyond the arc.
Southern Indiana is just as tough on defense. On average, it forces 21.7 turnovers and steals the ball 12.1 times per game. Five players have double-digit steals. The team is active in the passing lanes and often gets points off turnovers.
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The Screaming Eagles are led by graduate student forward Meredith Raley. The 6-foot forward averages 13.2 points per game and five rebounds per game. She’s an efficient shooter, making 48.1% of her shots from the floor.
However, Raley has not been quite as efficient in away games. In the Screaming Eagles’ three road contests, she scored 10, 11 and 10 points on just 26.3% shooting.
Illini getting healthy
The Illini started the season with injuries on top of injuries. Freshman forward Berry Wallace was out for the first eight games. Fifth-year guard Makira Cook has been in and out of practice and missed Bradley. Sophomore guard Jasmine Brown-Hagger missed a handful of games in November.
Lately, though, Illinois has been getting healthier. Wallace came back against Ohio State and logged 25 minutes against Bradley. Brown-Hagger returned to action against Canisius (1-7) and looked like she didn’t miss a beat.
As the Illini get healthier, they also get taller. With Wallace back, they can play taller lineups and matchup better on defense. Illinois played its tallest lineup of the season against Bradley.
Wallace was on the court with fifth-year forward Kendall Bostic and senior forward Brynn Shoup-Hill. It is a lineup that head coach Shauna Green can continue to use against bigger teams. Coincidentally, Southern Indiana has taller guards and will test this new Illinois look.
How they matchup
The Screaming Eagles’ guards have height with 5-foot-10 junior guard Ali Saunders, 5-foot-9 senior guard Vanessa Shafford and 5-foot-11 sophomore guard Sophia Loden.
Getting Brown-Hagger and Wallace back is big. Along with senior guard Adalia McKenzie, they can take the taller guards. Cook and fifth-year guard Genesis Bryant, while good on defense, could have some trouble against taller players.
Turnovers will be something to watch. Bryant and McKenzie are prone to coughing up the ball, with 20 and 21 turnovers, respectively. The Screaming Eagles’ defense gets plenty of turnovers and turns them into points. The Illini will have to limit their turnovers to avoid being upset.
Southern Indiana had some of the lowest steal numbers all season in its losses. Illinois needs to keep control of the ball. If it does, it should have no problem beating Southern Indiana.
Chasing records
Illinois won its 10th straight home game Thursday night against Bradley. It marks the third-longest streak in team history. With one more win, it would tie the 1986-87 season for second place with 11 consecutive home wins.
The longest win streak at home stands at 18 games, set from 1997 to 1999. This was achieved under hall-of-fame coach Theresa Grentz. During both the first- and second-place streaks, the team went to the NCAA tournament. That bodes well for the current Illini team, as they are on track to make the tournament.
@ben_some16
