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2024–25 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team

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2024–25 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 23
APNo. 22
Record5–0 (0–0 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaState Farm Center
Seasons
2024–25 Big Ten women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Penn State 0 – 0   – 7 – 0   1.000
No. 11 Maryland 0 – 0   – 6 – 0   1.000
Michigan State 0 – 0   – 6 – 0   1.000
Minnesota 0 – 0   – 6 – 0   1.000
No. 23 Oregon 0 – 0   – 6 – 0   1.000
No. 22 Illinois 0 – 0   – 5 – 0   1.000
Iowa 0 – 0   – 5 – 0   1.000
No. 12 Ohio State 0 – 0   – 5 – 0   1.000
No. 5 UCLA 0 – 0   – 5 – 0   1.000
Washington 0 – 0   – 6 – 1   .857
Michigan 0 – 0   – 5 – 1   .833
No. 21 Nebraska 0 – 0   – 5 – 1   .833
Wisconsin 0 – 0   – 5 – 1   .833
Rutgers 0 – 0   – 4 – 1   .800
No. 3 USC 0 – 0   – 4 – 1   .800
Purdue 0 – 0   – 3 – 1   .750
Indiana 0 – 0   – 4 – 2   .667
Northwestern 0 – 0   – 1 – 3   .250
† 2025 Big Ten tournament winner
As of November 24, 2024
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2024–25 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team represents the University of Illinois during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Fighting Illini are led by third-year head coach Shauna Green, and they play their home games at State Farm Center. This season marks the program's 43rd season as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

Previous season

[edit]
Main article: 2023–24 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team

The Illini finished the 2023–24 season 19–5 overall, with a 8–10 record in Big Ten play to finish in ninth place. Playing as the ninth seed in the Big Ten women's tournament, they lost in the first round to eighth seed Maryland, 75–65.

The team was not invited to the 2024 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, but earned an at-large bid and a number four seed to the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT). There, they defeated Missouri State, Stony Brook, Tulsa and first-seeded Washington State to advance to the championship game against first-seeded Villanova. The Illini defeated the Wildcats 71–57 at Hinkle Fieldhouse, marking the program's first postseason championship.[1]

Green's .621 winning percentage after her first two seasons at Illinois is the best start for the program's head coach, after Theresa Grentz's 1995–97 teams won .617 percent of their games.[2]

Accolades

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Illinois players Makira Cook, Genesis Bryant and Kendall Bostic were named to the WBIT All-Tournament Team after winning the championship game,[1] with Cook named as the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Cook's honor makes her the first Illinois women's basketball player in program history to be named MVP in a postseason competition.[3]

Four Illini earned All-Big Ten honors after the end of the season. Cook was named to the league's second team, Bostic was voted to the second team by the media and honorable mention by the coaches, Bryant was recognized as honorable mention in both polls, and Gretchen Dolan was added to the All-Freshman Team by the coaches. Dolan's honor is the first by an Illinois freshman since 2017.[4]

In September 2024, Cook was named to the preseason All-Big Ten Team by the conference coaches.[5]

On October 28, 2024, Cook was named as one of 20 players to the Nancy Lieberman Award pre-season watch list for the award that honors the top point guard in the country. This marked her second straight year on the watch list, and she is the first Illinois player to be recognized with this honor.[6] On the same date, Cook was named as one of 50 players to the Naismith Trophy Women's College Player of the Year watch list.[7]

On October 29, 2024, Bryant was recognized as one of the top 20 shooting guards in the country by landing on the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award pre-season watch list.[8] Two days later, Bostic was one of 20 players named to the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year pre-season watch list.[9]

Off-season

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On June 3, 2024, Illinois announced the hiring of Liza Fruendt as an assistant coach, replacing Jenna Giacone. Fruendt arrived at Illinois after three seasons as assistant coach at Tennessee.[10]

Four of the five of the previous season's starting lineup returned for the 2024–25 season, with Cook, Bryant and Bostic returning for a fifth year awarded to them due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]

In October 2024, it was announced that sophomore transfer Lety Vasconcelos will miss the entire season due to a torn ACL, sustained near the end of summer team workouts.[12]

On October 24, 2024, the university announced that Green's contract had been extended for two additional years, keeping the coach at Illinois at least through the 2029–30 season.[13]

Departures

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Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for departure
Camille Jackson 0 G 5'11" Sophomore Chicago, IL Transferred to Miami Ohio[11]
Kam'Ren Rhodes 4 G 5'6" Sophomore Chandler, AZ Transferred to Akron[11]
Jada Peebles 11 G 5'10" Senior Raleigh, NC Graduated[11]
Aisha Ndour 21 C 6'6" Senior Somone, Senegal Transferred to Wichita State[11]
Samantha Dewey 33 F 6'2" Freshman North Andover, MA Transferred to Richmond[11]
Camille Hobby 41 C 6'3" Senior Jacksonville, FL Graduated[11]

Incoming transfers

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Incoming transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous school
Jasmine Brown-Hagger 8 G 5'9" Sophomore Shorewood, IL Mississippi State[11]
Lety Vasconcelos 25 C 6'7" Sophomore Miguel Calmon, Bahia, Brazil Baylor[11]

2024 recruiting class

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2024 recruiting class
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown High school
Irene Noya Catoira 6 F 6'3" Freshman Vilagarcía de Arousa, Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain Institut Joaquim Blume[11]
Mia Zenere 12 G 5'11" Freshman Mokena, IL Example Academy[14]
Berry Wallace 20 F 6'1" Freshman Pickerington, Ohio Pickerington High School Central[11]
Hayven Smith 25 C 6'6" Freshman Frankfort, IL Lincoln Way East[11]

Roster

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2024–25 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 Genesis Bryant 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) GS North Carolina State Jonesboro, GA
G 2 Cori Allen 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) So Montverde Academy Nashville, TN
G 3 Makira Cook 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) GS Dayton Cincinnati, OH
G 4 Gretchen Dolan 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) So Williamsville South High School Buffalo, NY
F 6 Irene Noya Catoira 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Fr Institut Joaquim Blume Vilagarcía de Arousa, Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain
G 8 Jasmine Brown-Hagger 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So Mississippi State Shorewood, IL
G 12 Mia Zenere (W) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Fr Example Academy Mokena, IL
F 20 Berry Wallace 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr Pickerington High School Central Pickerington, Ohio
F 22 Shay Bollin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Jr Duke Raynham, MA
F 23 Brynn Shoup-Hill 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Sr Dayton Goshen, IN
G 24 Adalia McKenzie 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Sr Park Center Brooklyn Park, MN
C 25 Hayven Smith 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Fr Lincoln Way East Frankfort, IL
C 35 Lety Vasoncelos Injured 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) So Baylor Miguel Calmon, Bahia, Brazil
F 44 Kendall Bostic 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) GS Michigan State Kokomo, IN
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2024*
6:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Lewis W 80–53  0–0
 State Farm Center (3,556)
Champaign, IL
Regular season
November 7, 2024*
6:00 p.m., B1G+ 		No. 19 Florida State W 83–74  1–0
 State Farm Center (3,741)
Champaign, IL
November 10, 2024*
7:00 p.m., BTN 		Marquette W 65–53  2–0
 State Farm Center (3,748)
Champaign, IL
November 14, 2024*
6:00 p.m., B1G+ 		No. 23 Eastern Illinois W 84–37  3–0
 State Farm Center (3,645)
Champaign, IL
November 18, 2024*
11:00 a.m., B1G+ 		No. 22 Le Moyne W 94–25  4–0
 State Farm Center (13,486)
Champaign, IL
November 22, 2024*
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		No. 22 Oregon State W 85–66  5–0
 State Farm Center (3,891)
Champaign, IL
November 26, 2024*
1:15 p.m., BallerTV 		vs. Maryland Eastern Shore
Music City Classic 		Trevecca Trojan Fieldhouse 
Nashville, TN
November 27, 2024*
7:00 p.m., BallerTV 		vs. Kentucky
Music City Classic 		Trevecca Trojan Fieldhouse 
Nashville, TN
December 2, 2024*
5:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Canisius Koessler Athletic Center 
Buffalo, NY
December 8, 2024
3:00 p.m., BTN 		at Ohio State Value City Arena 
Columbus, OH
December 12, 2024*
6:00 p.m., BTN 		Bradley State Farm Center 
Champaign, IL
December 15, 2024*
1:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Southern Indiana State Farm Center 
Champaign, IL
December 20, 2024*
12:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Southern State Farm Center 
Champaign, IL
December 28, 2024
2:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Oregon State Farm Center 
Champaign, IL
December 31, 2024
12:00 p.m., BTN 		Washington State Farm Center 
Champaign, IL
January 5, 2025
2:00 p.m., BTN+ 		at Minnesota Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
January 9, 2025
6:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Iowa State Farm Center 
Champaign, IL
January 16, 2025
6:00 p.m., Peacock 		at Indiana Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, IN
January 19, 2025
2:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Michigan State State Farm Center 
Champaign, IL
January 23, 2025
7:00 p.m., BTN 		at Northwestern Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, IL
January 27, 2025
7:30 p.m., BTN 		Purdue State Farm Center 
Champaign, IL
January 30, 2025
6:00 p.m., B1G+ 		at Rutgers Jersey Mike's Arena 
Piscataway, NJ
February 2, 2025
12:00 p.m., B1G+ 		at Maryland Xfinity Center 
College Park, MD
February 6, 2025
6:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Northwestern State Farm Center 
Champaign, IL
February 9, 2025
3:00 p.m., B1G+ 		at Wisconsin Kohl Center 
Madison, WI
February 13, 2025
6:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Penn State State Farm Center 
Champaign, IL
February 16, 2025
4:00 p.m., BTN 		Nebraska State Farm Center 
Champaign, IL
February 20, 2025
8:30 p.m., BTN 		at UCLA Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
February 23, 2025
3:00 p.m., FS1 		at USC Galen Center 
Los Angeles, CA
March 2, 2025
2:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Michigan State Farm Center 
Champaign, IL
Big Ten Women's Tournament
March 5–9, 2025
 vs. TBA Gainbridge Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.

Rankings

[edit]
Main article: 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
APRV2322
CoachesRV2423

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Vozzelli, Joe (April 3, 2024). "History! Illini win WBIT championship". The News-Gazette. Champaign, Illinois. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  2. ^ Daniels, Matt (April 5, 2024). "The daily pitch". The News-Gazette. Champaign, Illinois. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  3. ^ "Illini Trio Named to WBIT All-Tournament Team, Cook Earns Most Outstanding Player Honors". fightingillini.com. University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics. April 3, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  4. ^ "[4] Fighting Illini to Play for WBIT Championship Against [1] Villanova on Wednesday". fightingillini.com. University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics. April 1, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  5. ^ "Cook Named Preseason All-Big Ten". fightingillini.com. University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics. September 26, 2024. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  6. ^ "Cook Named to Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Top-20 Preseason Watch List for Second Straight Season". fightingillini.com. University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics. October 28, 2024. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  7. ^ "Cook Earns Spot on Naismith Trophy Women's College Player of the Year Watch List". fightingillini.com. University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics. October 28, 2024. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  8. ^ "Bryant Named to Ann Meyers-Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Top-20 Preseason Watch List". fightingillini.com. University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics. October 29, 2024. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  9. ^ Daniels, Matt (November 1, 2024). "The Daily Pitch". The News-Gazette. Champaign, Illinois. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  10. ^ Daniels, Matt (June 3, 2024). "Fruendt joins Illinois women's basketball as assistant coach". The News-Gazette. Champaign, Illinois. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Vozzelli, Joe (June 10, 2024). "Green Street: The 2024–25 Illini have arrived on campus". The News-Gazette. Champaign, Illinois. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  12. ^ Vozzelli, Joe (October 30, 2024). "Illinois women's basketball center Vasconcelos out for season with knee injury". The News-Gazette. Champaign, Illinois. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  13. ^ Vozzelli, Joe (October 24, 2024). "Illinois women's basketball coach lands contract extension". The News-Gazette. Champaign, Illinois. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  14. ^ Vozzelli, Joe (August 2, 2024). "Green Street: Numbers game". The News-Gazette. Champaign, Illinois. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
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