LGHL Visiting Locker Room: Talking Illinois Fighting Illini with Illini Inquirer

[ThomasCostello]

Visiting Locker Room: Talking Illinois Fighting Illini with Illini Inquirer
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Learn more about the Fighting Illini from someone on the Illinois women’s basketball beat.

Big Ten women’s basketball is back in the Schottenstein Center Sunday, when the No. 21 Illinois Fighting Illini visit No. 12 Ohio State women’s basketball. It’s a matchup that’s had its close outcomes over the last few seasons, but this year the Buckeyes bring a new look to the conference.

It’s a matchup between an established Illinois side, who has a tournament trophy from the 2024 WBIT and an Ohio State program that hasn’t shown what it can do yet against a ranked, power conference, opponent.

To learn more about the Illinois side of things, Land-Grant Holy Land spoke with Jeno Jo from the Illini Inquirer. Jo talks about that tournament run, how forward Kendall Bostic does against teams with stronger interior game and more.

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Land-Grant Holy Land: Last season, Illinois came in as a potential contender in the Big Ten but struggled to start the season. The Illini really didn’t hit their rhythm until they made it into the WBIT. What did Illinois finally do to start meeting their potential?

Illini Inquirer: While it may not seem like it now with some injuries, one thing they did start the season with was a fully healthy squad. With guard Makira Cook starting the season, Shauna Green’s squad was able to start the season with the pace and attacking prowess that it wants to finish the season with. Last year’s WBIT run also saw most of their players healthy.

LGHL: The Illini started the season with an upset win over a ranked Florida State side. What have they done so well at the beginning of the season to give them their strong start?

II: It always goes back to health, but one of the key differences from last year’s squad is that it’s not quite as predictable. Mississippi State transfer guard Jasmine Brown-Hagger has shown an ability to go off once she hits a hot streak, and sophomore guard Gretchen Dolan has hit career-highs in every statistical category already. This is the most depth that a Shauna Green-led Illinois squad has had, and maybe even the most depth an Illinois squad has had in recent history.

LGHL: Illinois’ lone hiccup came against the Kentucky Wildcats. Their shooting had a rough night. Was it bad shooting night or did the Wildcats do something to make it difficult on the Illini?

II: One thing the Wildcats had over the Illini was size. On the perimeter, the length of players like Teonni Key (6-foot-4) and Clara Strack (6-foot-5) made for a tough shooting night. It’s not just that only one three-pointer was made, it’s also that only 16 were attempted at all. The pick-and-pop of Bostic has been a regular involvement in Illinois’ offense this year, and it just wasn’t a factor against Kentucky. Additionally, Illinois shot 12-of-30 on layups and Kentucky hit 15-of-20.

LGHL: Bostic’s done well against Ohio State, averaging a double-double with almost 17 rebounds per game. The Buckeyes bolstered their paint presence this offseason. How has Bostic done against some of the stronger bigs like Alexis Markowski and MacKenzie Holmes?

II: Illinois has struggled against teams with size and length in the past. Last year’s losses against Maryland and Michigan are big indicators of that. The guard duo of Genesis Bryant and Cook have trouble with entry passes and getting shots up over defenders, but the paint battle has also not been kind.

Last season, Bostic went 2-2 against Markowski and Holmes last season. Her size makes for a tough defensive matchup. Holmes scored 30 and 24 while shooting just over 71 percent, while Markowski totaled 28 points and 23 rebounds across two meetings. The approach to attacking larger players like Lemmila will be to drag them out to the perimeter and force them to open up driving lanes for guards like Adalia McKenzie.

Bostic’s bread and butter will be her 15-foot jumpsuit, which Green has described to be as consistent as her layup at times this year. Undercutting taller Big Ten players will be what Bostic will need to do against a team like Ohio State, at least for as long as center Hayven Smith is still finding her groove and forward Berry Wallace is hurt.

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Ohio State and Illinois tip off at 4:00 p.m. ET, Sunday at the Schottenstein Center. For Buckeye fans who can’t make it to the arena, watch the first conference game of the season on the Big Ten Network.

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