CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) - Despite a bruised and battered roster during the 2024-25 season, Illini women's basketball still achieved a historically successful year.
Shauna Green led her team of experienced players to the program's first NCAA Tournament win in 25 years, advancing through the first round over Creighton. Finishing the campaign with a record of 22-10, Illinois continued to show improvement even without some of their biggest stars.
"Last year put a lot of new perspectives into a lot of things for me," Coach Green said. "I told them again, 'Everyone stay ready. Take care of your bodies because you just never know what's going to happen.' We found that out last year."
In preparing for the new season, it's clear there are areas where new and young talent must step into larger roles. Redshirt Sophomore Gretchen Dolan is likely to be a featured part of the Illini offense, alongside sophomore Berry Wallace. Junior Jasmine Brown-Hagger has more responsibility as a result of injuries and returns skills as an active guard.
Green also landed transfers in Aaliyah Guyton (Iowa) and Maddie Webber (Villanova).
"It's going to be a process in this journey," Green added. "We still don't have our whole team here. We still have some key pieces that are playing with their their national teams right now. So [we're] just trying to get better each and every day."
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