Illinois (16-7, 6-6) head coach Shauna Green is calling on all Illini fans to come out on Sunday and sell out State Farm Center for the first time in almost 30 years. It would be just the third time in program history if accomplished.
“If we can get this done, it would be monumental for this program,” Green said. “It will be great for recruiting. It’ll be great for our players in a big game with USC coming in. This place gets loud; I’ve been to men’s games here multiple times. If we can get that for that game, it would be unbelievable. These kids deserve it; this team deserves it.”
Scouting USC
The Trojans (14-9, 6-6) march into Champaign on a three-game win streak, including defeating No. 10 Iowa (18-5, 9-3). The loss of their star player, junior guard JuJu Watkins, as she recovers from an ACL tear she sustained during their 2025 March Madness run, has placed a spotlight on freshman guard Jazzy Davidson.
Davidson leads her team in points per game (16.4), rebounds per game (6.2), steals (43) and blocks (52). Davidson is one of the favorites to win the U.S. Basketball Writers Association National Freshman of the Year award, despite USC’s up-and-down season. She has been a large reason that the Trojans have been able to find success this season without Watkins, and her 23.9 points per game from last season.
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Another Trojan that the Illini will need to dedicate defensive attention to is senior guard Kara Dunn. She adds 16 points and 5.5 rebounds per game when she’s on the floor. The Georgia Tech transfer scored 20-plus points in seven of her last nine games. Dunn can show up in big moments, and USC is looking to extend its three-game win streak while improving to 3-5 on the road.
To contain this backcourt duo, Green will need both speed and size. Davidson and Dunn are at least two inches taller than Illinois’ backcourt. But while the Illini’s guards are shorter, they are all speedy and disruptive on defense. They regularly break up plays, and freshman guard Destiny Jackson is used to scoring on a fast break.
Green’s forwards, sophomore Berry Wallace and freshman Cearah Parchment, offer the mix of skillset and speed that will be most helpful. The two are team leaders in rebounding and points, and both have already been tasked with guarding other great players. The two are also able to play a mix of positions since they have developed more guard skills, like dribbling, and are able to shoot from three levels.
Sunday’s themes, important information
Green’s call to sell out State Farm Center is about more than just getting people in the door. Sunday’s game will also be the Play4Kay Pink Game and the National Girls & Women in Sports Game. At the game, there will be multiple giveaways, as well as $1 wings and $7 domestic beer. General admission tickets are being sold for as low as $5.
“I think it’s going to be huge,” said junior guard Jasmine Brown-Hagger. “Our fans are everything to us. It being packed out or having a lot of people there is going to be very vital to our success on Sunday.”
The purpose of the Play4Kay game is to donate money to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Proceeds from this game will be put toward the Play4Kay donation fund, which is the cancer fund’s largest fundraising initiative. Green has purchased 100 tickets for cancer survivors and fighters, and Illinois football head coach Bret Bielema will cover an additional 200 free tickets.
For the National Girls & Women in Sports Game, multiple Illinois women’s sports teams will be in attendance. Both of the initiatives will bring together the community to support people impacted by cancer as well as get more eyes on women’s sports, athletes and coaches.
History selling out State Farm
Both of Illinois’ sold-out games were accomplished under former head coach Theresa Grentz. In her 12 seasons as head coach, she led her team to postseason appearances 10 times. Two of those were back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances in the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons.
During Illinois’ 1997-98 Sweet Sixteen season, Illinois faced Purdue and sold out State Farm Center. At the time, Illinois had won eight of its last nine games, only falling to No. 20 Michigan State on the road. Despite the Illini losing 80-75, the total attendance was the most yet, with a recorded 16,050 attendees on Feb. 23, 1997.
The second and last time the women’s program sold out their stadium came two years later during the 1998-99 season. By this point, the team had defeated four ranked teams, including No. 19 Stanford in their season opener, and another NCAA appearance was in sight.
The sold-out game was Illinois’ season-closer against Iowa. Just two days before, Wisconsin had bested Illinois in overtime, so Illinois wanted a win to end the regular season on a high note. In front of the highest number of fans in program history at 16,450, the Illini took down the Hawkeyes 86-73 on Feb. 21, 1999.
Having a crowd of fans for tough games can make an impossible task attainable. The Illini are hunting redemption after falling in a close battle against the Oregon Ducks (18-7, 6-6) on Wednesday, so a stadium full of support will go a long way.
“The State Farm Center is a hard place to play in just because it’s so intimate,” Brown-Hagger said. “It’s not hard for us; we love it. We love all the joy in there, and we feed off of that. We hear all the energy, and that fuels us.”
Illinois and USC tip off in State Farm Center at noon on Sunday.
@briedirl
