Illinois women’s basketball opens the 2026-27 season Wednesday with a familiar kind of expectation hanging over the program: this is a team built to do more than just show up in March.
After back-to-back trips to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Shauna Green’s group enters the year ranked No. 23 in the preseason and with all five starters back. That kind of continuity gives Illinois a real chance to chase its best finish of the millennium, and the first step comes against Detroit Mercy.
The Titans are still in rebuild mode under second-year coach Kiefer Haffey. Last season, Detroit Mercy went 7-24 overall and 4-16 in Horizon League play, and while Monday’s 94-30 win over Michigan-Dearborn gave the Titans a clean start, it doesn’t change the bigger picture much for a program that didn’t reach double-digit wins a year ago.
Illinois, meanwhile, looks every bit like a team on the rise. The Illini have the pieces to push toward the top four in the Big Ten, and shooting is one of their biggest strengths. Last season, Green’s team ranked second nationally in free-throw percentage, and the offense can score from all over the floor.
Junior forward Berry Wallace is the headliner after leading Illinois in scoring last season at 18.4 points per game. She also added 6.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest.
The opener tips off Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT at State Farm Center in Champaign.
Fans can watch on B1G+ or tune in on WDWS 93.9 FM or 1400 AM. The game will also be streamed at Fighting Illini Productions and on the Varsity Network App.
Illinois and Detroit Mercy have met three times before, with the Illini winning two of those matchups. Their most recent meeting came in 2017, when Illinois won 73-65.
The other two games were played in the early 1990s, with Detroit Mercy winning 90-74 on Jan. 2, 1990, and Illinois taking an 85-76 decision on Dec. 29, 1992.
Three games is a tiny sample, but the edge belongs to Illinois entering this one. A double-digit win would be a fitting way to start the season.
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