Lineups
Illinois (1-0)
StartersP Identify Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Makira Cook dinner Jr. 5-6 14.0 Cincinnati
G Jayla Oden So. 5-9 2.0 Baltimore
G Adalia McKenzie So. 5-10 12.0 Brooklyn Park, Minn.
F Kendall Bostic Jr. 6-2 16.0 Kokomo, Ind.
F Brynn Shoup-Hill So. 6-3 0.0 Goshen, Ind.
OFF THE BENCHP Identify Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Genesis Bryant Jr. 5-6 13.0 Jonesboro, Ga.
G Jada Peebles Sr. 5-10 2.0 Raleigh, N.C.
F/C Geovana Lopes Gr. 6-3 0.0 Bataguassu, Brazil
C Aicha Ndour Jr. 6-6 10.0 Somone, Senegal
FYI: The Illini shot 47.3 % from the sector within the 75-40 season-opening victory towards Lengthy Island on Wednesday evening at State Farm Heart. That quantity would have been even higher, however Peebles was one of many few Illinois gamers to wrestle to seek out her shot versus the Sharks, with the senior guard going 1 of 11 from the sector and lacking all six of the three-pointers she tried.
Alcorn State (0-2)
StartersP Identify Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Cayla Obillo Sr. 5-2 1.0 Move Christian, Miss.
G Kailyn Watkins R-So. 5-5 3.5 Inglewood, Calif.
G/F Kiarra Henderson Jr. 5-9 3.0 Fort Price, Texas
G/F T’Naye Griffin So. 6-0 2.0 Minneapolis
F Akyriale Ford R-So. 6-2 9.0 Crystal Springs, Miss.
FYI: Two video games. Two utterly completely different beginning fives for third-year Braves coach Nate Kilbert
- . It means 10 of the 16 gamers on Alcorn State’s roster have one begin apiece. The Braves have been outscored 149-86 of their first two video games, together with a 49-point loss at Tulsa within the season opener on Monday evening adopted by a 67-53 defeat at Wichita State on Wednesday evening.
OFF THE BENCHP Identify Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Ashanti Backus Jr. 5-4 1.0 Little Rock, Ark.
G/F Nakia Cheatham Jr. 6-0 5.0 Clarksdale, Miss.
F Tyginae Wright Sr. 5-9 7.0 Brooklyn, N.Y.
C Future Brown So. 6-3 6.0 Los Angeles
DETAILS
Website:
- State Farm Heart (15,544); Champaign.
Radio:
- Mike Koon can have the decision on WDWS 1400- AM, 93.9-FM.
Streaming:
- Huge Ten Plus (subscription).
Sequence:
- Illinois holds a 2-0 lead towards Alcorn State in all-time matchups.
Final assembly:
- The Illini cruised to a 112-28 victory on Nov. 17, 2013, at State Farm Heart in Champaign.
FYI:
- Illinois is 10-0 at school historical past towards the present members of the SWAC. Outdoors of the 2 aforementioned wins towards Alcorn State, the Illini are 3-0 towards Arkansas-Pine Bluff to go together with a 2-0 report versus Alabama A&M. Illinois has one win apiece towards Alabama State, Mississippi Valley State and Southern.
Beat author JOE
VOZZELLI JR.’s storylines
McKenzie impressing new Illini workers
Adalia McKenzie was a well-liked participant within the postgame autograph session after Wednesday evening’s blowout win towards Lengthy Island within the season opener.
Children from space grade faculties crowded behind the Illinois bench asking, “The place’s No. 24?” as different Illinois gamers signed posters. After all, that’s the jersey quantity McKenzie wears. A giant cheer adopted as soon as McKenzie made her means over to signal autographs a couple of minutes later.
Seems, native elementary faculty college students aren’t the one ones who’re a fan of McKenzie’s recreation.
What impressed first-year Illinois coach Shauna Inexperienced essentially the most was how McKenzie created offense for herself by transferring with out the ball and regardless of the Illini coaches not working units particularly for the 5-foot-10 wing.
“(That is) what I envision of her,” Inexperienced mentioned after her first win at Illinois. “She impacted the sport and he or she made performs. And the way did she do this? Her rebounding. Her offensive rebounding. A pair rebounds, she acquired up so excessive. It simply reveals her athleticism. She went on the market with nothing actually ran for her particularly … and was 6 for 10, had seven rebounds, 12 factors. That’s what she’s able to doing. I liked her recreation (Wednesday evening).”
No substitute for recreation expertise
Illinois is the third completely different faculty for Aicha Ndour in as many school seasons. The Somone, Senegal, native — who accomplished her highschool schooling within the U.S. at Cushing Academy in Massachusetts — spent one season at Rutgers earlier than transferring to Northwest Florida State School on Florida’s Gulf Coast and enjoying a season for the Raiders.
Ndour was a late addition to the Illini, formally signing with this system on Could 27, as the ultimate participant to affix Inexperienced’s first Illinois roster. The progress Ndour comprised of the exhibition versus Quincy (three fouls in seven minutes) to the opening win towards LIU (10 factors, seven rebounds in 13 minutes) caught Inexperienced’s consideration.
“We undoubtedly want her dimension,” Inexperienced mentioned of the 6-foot-6 heart. “You consider it. She simply wants recreation minutes. She wants expertise. As soon as she will get some extra expertise, she’s going to settle in. … I additionally thought she had some bounce to her (Wednesday evening). She had good vitality about her. We want her to proceed to progress.”
Recruiting replace after fall additions
Inexperienced focused size at guard and on the wing as recruiting priorities for her Illinois workers within the Class of 2023. The 2 gamers the Illini signed Wednesday in 5-10 guard Cori Allen and 5-11 guard Gretchen Dolan match that invoice.
“That was one thing that was actually vital to us,” Inexperienced mentioned, “they usually each can rating in any respect three ranges. Cori can play 1 by 3 and Gretchen is a wing that may actually shoot the ball effectively and stretch the ground.”
Inexperienced mentioned Illinois has one open scholarship for subsequent season and added “we’ll see what’s on the market” to find out if the Illini will fill their full scholarship allotment.
The Information-Gazette’s choose
Illinois 72, Alcorn State 48
Scoring the ball has been an issue for the Braves of their first two video games and there’s no cause to suppose the Illini gained’t have bother repeating what they did defensively within the opener versus LIU. (N-G prediction report — 1-0).