Illinois got a first look at just how deep this roster can be Friday night, and the answer was loud and clear.
In the program’s only exhibition tune-up, the No. 23 Illini rolled past Illinois-Springfield 88-44 behind 14 points apiece from Gretchen Dolan and Aaliyah Guyton. Ten Illinois players were on the floor for at least 14 minutes, a sign of the rotation options Shauna Green has at her disposal this season.
The game also offered a glimpse of the newcomers and the returning core that has Illinois positioned again in the AP Top 25. The Illini bring back their top eight scorers from last season and add two pieces expected to matter right away.
Manuella Alves made her Illinois debut after sitting out all of last season following knee surgery, and the 6-foot-3 forward from Brazil finished with 11 points and four rebounds. LSU transfer Divine Bourrage also made her first appearance in an Illinois uniform, scoring two points in 17 minutes.
Illinois did not exactly fly out of the gate. The Illini led only 11-9 before closing the first quarter on a 14-2 surge, then stretched that control into a 54-22 halftime cushion.
Dolan had 12 points by the break, continuing the scoring form that made her one of the team’s most reliable weapons last season. The 5-foot-11 senior’s past two years have both been cut short by knee injuries, but she still scored in double figures in 13 of 17 starts last season and averaged a career-best 12.9 points per game.
The supporting cast showed up too. Maddie Webber scored 11 points off the bench, while Cearah Parchment nearly posted a double-double with 9 points and 9 rebounds. Parchment, a sophomore from Canada, was recently named to the watch list for the Katrina McClain Award, which honors the nation’s top power forward.
Berry Wallace, who enters the year as a preseason All-Big Ten first team pick and a Naismith National Player of the Year watch list selection, chipped in 7 points and 6 rebounds.
Illinois shot 23 of 31 from the foul line, good for 74.2 percent. That mark came in just under the standard the Illini set last season, when they ranked second nationally at 81.5 percent.
The win comes on the heels of a 22-12 season that ended with an NCAA tournament berth, Illinois’ third in four seasons under Green. The program opened the year in the AP Top 25 for the second time in Green’s tenure, landing at No. 23 in the preseason poll as one of nine Big Ten teams ranked.
Illinois opens the regular season Wednesday against Detroit Mercy at State Farm Center.
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Illinois Kept Its Streak Alive But This Road Win Felt Different
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