| Illinois Starters Last Game (vs. Illinois State) | ||||||||||
| Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Yr. | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | Season Note |
| G | 2 | Destiny Jackson | 5-6 | Fr. | 7.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 0.5 | Recorded four steals against Illinois State |
| G | 4 | Gretchan Dolan | 5-11 | Jr. | 17.0 | 3.5 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 0.5 | Leads the team in assists, recording 12 |
| G | 8 | Jasmine Brown-Hagger | 5-9 | Jr. | 6.5 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 0.0 | Ranked third on the team in 3-pointers made and steals in 2024-25. |
| F | 23 | Berry Wallace | 6-1 | So. | 24.5 | 9.0 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | Named to Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll for standout performances in week 1. |
| F | 30 | Cearah Parchment | 6-3 | Fr. | 8.5 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | The team’s youngest player, born on July 4, 2007. |
Head Coach Shauna Green
Career Record: 221-110 (.667), 12th season
Division I Record: 192-85 (.692), 10th season
At Illinois: 65-35 (.646), Fourth season
Big Ten Record: 30-24 (.556), Fourth season
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
The Oregon State Beavers are coming off two straight wins to open up the 2025-26 season, the first coming over Corban, 86-45, and the second over Air Force, 60-49.
Both wins produced well-rounded scoring efforts from the Beavers, but fifth-year guard Tiara Bolden has led the way. The 5’11” scoring guard put up 13 and 23 points in her first two outings of the year. Bolden currently leads the team in field goal and three-point attempts, and is the backcourt’s most efficient rebounder.
Sophomore Ally Schimel and junior Kennedie Shuler have also started both games for Oregon State. Both in the backcourt, Schimel operates as more of shooting guard capacity, like Bolden, while Shuler is the team’s point guard and primary facilitator. She led the team in assists last year, averaging 3.7 per game, and has dished out 13 in the first two games of the year.
6’8″ center Néné Sow has started in the last two games for the Beavers, primarily contributing as a rebounder. Sow has notched 15 rebounds in only 28 minutes on the court, nine of which came from her 12 minutes against Air Force.
Meanwhile, 6’3″ freshman forward Lara Alonso-Basurto has led the team in rebounding while coming off the bench. She notched double-doubles in the first two games of her collegiate career, scoring 11 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in 31 minutes in the team’s last game against Air Force.
The Oregon State Beavers are led by Scott Rueck, who enters his 16th year at the helm of the program. Rueck, holding a 318-170 record with the Beavers, has led the team to a NCAA Final Four and two Elite Eights. The program comes into 2025-26 after a 19-16 campaign and a NCAA Tournament appearance last season.
HISTORY VERSUS OREGON STATE
Illinois and Oregon State have only faced each other twice, with the Illini coming on top in both matchups. The most recent meeting, held in Champaign, was in November of last season when Kendall Bostic dropped a career-high 31 points in an 85-66 victory.
Previously, the two programs had only faced off in 1996 in Corvallis, when the Teresa Grentz-led Illini squad was victorious 65-50.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Friday’s contest marks the first of 12 scheduled road games for Illinois this season and is one of three that will be played in the Pacific Northwest. Illinois makes its first Oregon-Washington trek as part of Big Ten Conference play at the beginning of February. The Orange and Blue are 18-16 overall in true road games played under Shauna Green.
MAKING THE HONOR ROLL
Sophomore forward Berry Wallace was named to the Big Ten’s Weekly Honor Roll after delivering back-to-back 20 point games as the Fighting Illini opened the season 2-0.
Across Week 1, Wallace averaged 24.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 34.5 minutes per game. Wallace shot 60.7% from the field (17-for-28), 40% from 3-point range (2-for-5), and 76.5% (13-for-17) from the free-throw line.
Wallace opened the season with a 27-point, 11-rebound double-double in a 91-67 win over SEMO. That contest saw the Pickerington, Ohio native set new career highs in points and rebounds while recording both the first double-double and 20-point game of her Illinois career.
On Sunday, Wallace turned in 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and zero turnovers against Illinois State. The forward shot 7-for-10 from the field including 8-for-11 from the free-throw line.
The weekly honor is the first of any Wallace has earned from the Big Ten during her young career.
YOUNG ILLINI
While freshmen Destiny Jackson and Cearah Parchment became the first freshman duo since Jada Peebles and Kennedi Myles, in 2019, to start in a season opener for Illinois, they’ve shown why they’re starting over the last two games.
Jackson had two all-around efforts in the first two games of her career, compiling 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. She’s seen the court for nearly the entirety of both games, playing 33 minutes against SEMO and 34 facing Illinois State. Jackson’s six assists versus SEMO set a program record for a freshman in a season opener. She also recorded a notable four steals against ISU.
Parchment, the team’s youngest player, has been strong in the rebounding column. While foul trouble limited her playing time in her debut, she still managed to grab three boards and score eight points in only 12 minutes. Parchment’s outing versus Illinois State was well-rounded, recording nine points, nine rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal in 34 minutes.
THE SHAUNA GREEN EFFECT
Illinois’ 63 wins through Green’s first three seasons match the program record in that span while also marking the most by a head coach in their first three years with the Orange and Blue. Across that period, Illinois is 38-11 at home under Green, and the program has secured double-digit wins in three straight seasons for the first time in program history. The Illini won 11 consecutive games from March 21-Nov. 26, 2024, a new program record and the longest active win streak in the country at the time. Additionally, Illinois strung together a program-record eight-game Big Ten winning streak en route to an 11-7 record in league play.
LAND OF LINCOLN
Entering the 2025-26 season, five Illini proudly representing the Orange and Blue hail from their home state of Illinois.
Native to Shorewood, Ill, junior Jasmine Brown-Hagger started her high school career with two years at Joliet Catholic Academy, followed by two seasons of prep ball at Example Academy, in Frankfort, Ill.
Aaliyah Guyton represented the Peoria Lions throughout her high school career and earned two Big-12 Player of the Year awards in the process. She was ranked as the top player in the state in 2024.
Chicago’s Destiny Jackson comes to Illinois directly after being named Illinois Ms. Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year in her senior year at Whitney Young Magnet High School. Averaging 21.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.8 steals, in her senior season, Jackson was nationally-ranked No. 28 in her class by 247Sports.
6’6″ Hayven Smith hails from Frankfort, Ill, where she represented Lincoln-Way East for four years. In her senior season, Smith led the school to its first regional championship in seven years.
Mokena, Ill. native Mia Zenere notched one year at Lincoln-Way Central before heading to Example Academy for her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons.
INTERNATIONAL TIES
Going into Green’s fourth year at Illinois, the Illini have six international athletes listed on their roster.
6’3″ forward Manuella Alves is home to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She played her freshman and sophomore high school seasons in Brazil before playing the other two at Florida’s IMG Academy.
Irene Noya Catoira hails from Vilagarcía de Arousa, Pontevedra, Spain. She Played for Segle XXI in the Spain-LF2 league from 2022-24 helping the team win the Group B regular season championship both seasons.
Freshman Erica Finney journeys to Champaign from Sydney, Australia, where she played high school ball at Cammeraygal High School. Finney represented Australia in the FIBA U17 2024 World Cup.
Cearah Parchment is from Whitby, Ontario, Canada. She attended Fort Erie International Academy and represented her country twice in FIBA World Cups.
Graduate student Gisela Segura hails from Cervera, Spain, where she graduated from Institut Joaquim Blume. She comes to Illinois after three years at Division II Franklin Pierce and one season at LIU.
Despite playing four high school seasons in the United States, Lety Vasconcelos is native to Miguel Calmon, Bahia, Brazil. She was a three-time member of the Brazilian national team, winning the South American Championship in 2020.
YOUNGEST TEAM
Green’s fourth Illini squad is by far her youngest, with an average age of 19.91 years as of the start of the 2025-26 campaign. This places Illinois in the top-five for youngest rosters in Power 5 Women’s Basketball.
Only two players — Gretchan Dolan and Gisela Segura — are above the age of 21. Segura is the team’s oldest, with her 23rd birthday approaching in December.
Meanwhile Cearah Parchment is the youngest player on the team, at 18 years and four months. She was born on July 4, 2007, just five days after the launch of the iPhone.
A NEW ERA
Illinois enters the season with eight newcomers and seven returners on its 15-player roster. However, returning players accounted for 24.4% of last year’s scoring. In total, 75.6% of the offensive production from 2024-25 departed with Kendall Bostic, Genesis Bryant, Adalia McKenzie, Makira Cook, and Brynn Shoup-Hill — all of whom concluded decorated collegiate careers.
Despite the turnover in scoring, the Illini bring in eight high-impact additions through recruiting and the portal. With elite size, athleticism, and skill across every position group, Shauna Green‘s squad steps into a new era of Illinois Women’s Basketball, one defined by upside and opportunity.
TALLEST PLAYER IN PROGRAM HISTORY
Listed at 6’7″, Lety Vasconcelos is the tallest player in program history. While the Illini have had various student-athletes at 6’6″ in the past — including Aicha Ndour from 2022-2024 — the extra inch makes Vasconcelos the tallest Illini ever.
While she’s the tallest Illini, Vasconcelos is tied for tallest in the conference, as Purdue’s Avery Gordon and UCLA’s Lauren Betts are also listed at the same height.
SWITCHING TEAMS
Illinois acquired Aaliyah Guyton and Maddie Webber from the transfer portal this summer, two players who had faced off with Illinois at their previous schools.
Guyton, the sophomore guard, played her freshman season at Iowa, where she averaged 4.7 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists. She made 29 appearances throughout the season, and coincidentally, made her first career start at Illinois.
In two seasons at Villanova, Webber averaged 10.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. While Villanova faced off with Illinois in the 2023-24 WBIT Final, Webber didn’t make an appearance in the contest. She was named to second-team All-BIG EAST Second Team in her sophomore season.
The Illini also added Gisela Segura in the summer of 2025. A graduate student, she comes to Champaign after one season at LIU. Previously, she played the 2020-24 seasons at Division II Franklin Pierce.
ADDING JACKIE ALEXANDER
Illinois hired Jackie Alexander as an assistant coach in the 2025 offseason. Alexander joins the program after one season as an assistant coach at Toledo.
Prior to Toledo, Alexander held positions at East Tennessee State (2021-24), Eastern Kentucky (2019-21), Albany (2018-19), and Air Force (2017-18).
A native of Broadhead, Kentucky, Alexander served as an Army officer for three years following her undergraduate career at Army West Point and the University of the Cumberlands. Reaching the rank of captain, she served at Fort Campbell in Kentucky and was deployed to Iraq while in the Army.
TOP ILLINOIS TALENT
With the addition of Destiny Jackson and Aaliyah Guyton for the 2025-26 campaign, Illinois basketball now has the top-ranked Illinois recruits from the classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Jasmine Brown-Hagger was the state’s No. 1 player in the class of 2023, and the no. 54 prospect in the nation, according to espnW HoopGurlz. In her senior season at Example Academy, she averaged 19.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 3.2 steals. While she played her freshman season at Mississippi State, she came home to Illinois the following year.
Illinois’ No. 1 in the class of 2024, Aaliyah Guyton is originally from Peoria, Illinois. She enters her first season at Illinois after transferring from Iowa over the offseason.
After earning the titles of Illinois Ms. Basketball and Illinois Gatorade Player of the year in 2025, Destiny Jackson comes from Chicago as a five-star recruit, ranked sixth nationally at her position. The top-ranked player in Illinois, Jackson played at Whitney Young Magnet H.S. while playing club for Example Sports GUAA.
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