Illinois’ name was not called during ESPN’s selection show Monday night.

The Illini women’s basketball team had been waiting over a week to see if it had done enough to get into the field of 64. The Illini were in solid shape to get selected before losing four of their final five games, including an upset against Wisconsin in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.

The season continues for Illinois, however; it automatically qualified for the WNIT because of its status as the highest finishing Big Ten team not to make the NCAA tournament. Illinois will host Miami (Ohio) on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Assembly Hall.

The first-round home game means Illinois’ seniors Karisma Penn and Adrienne GodBold will get at least one more opportunity to play in front of the Illini faithful. A loss to Ohio State spoiled Penn and GodBold’s senior night on Feb. 28.

Penn and GodBold have made the postseason only once before in their four years. During their freshman year, the Illini made the WNIT quarterfinals.

Illinois head coach Matt Bollant has never missed the postseason. The first-year coach made the WNIT in his first year at Green Bay and made the NCAA tournament in each of his last four years.

Illinois is 2-2 against Miami (Ohio) all-time, but the Illini haven’t played the Redhawks since 1994.

The Redhawks are led by senior guard Courtney Osborn, who is one of the nation’s top 3-point shooters, with a 15th-best 40.9 field-goal percentage from distance. Her three 3-pointers per game have helped her to a 19.1 scoring average.

Down low for Miami, 6-foot-1 forward Kirsten Olowinski will give Penn all she can handle. The senior averages a double-double with 12.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.

Miami should have a significant advantage on the boards. The Redhawks average 3.8 more rebounds than their opponents, while the Illini usually grab 3.6 fewer rebounds than opposing teams.

The Redhawks have had trouble taking care of the ball all season, averaging 18.3 turnovers per game. Illinois, on the other hand, forces 23.8 turnovers per game, the second best rate in the nation.

Illinois’ Buzz defense is one of the main reasons for the high number of forced turnovers. The unique 2-1-2 trap is unfamiliar to many opponents. Bollant said the Buzz defense makes Illinois hard to prepare for with such a quick turnaround.

ESPN and Big Ten Network analyst Stephanie White also thinks Illinois is hard to prepare for, but for different reasons.

“You can’t simulate the quickness that they have on the floor,” White said. “You can’t simulate their length at every position. You can’t simulate their ability to defend all five players while continuing to switch aggressive in the zone.”

The winner of Illinois and Miami will face the winner of Wednesday’s matchup between Missouri and Eastern Illinois.

Johnathan can be reached at [email protected] and @jhett93.