Game 3 women's basketball preview: Saint Peter's at Illinois, 11 a.m. Wednesday
Nov. 15—Lineups
Illinois (1-1)
Starters
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Genesis Bryant Sr. 5-6 21.5 Jonesboro, Ga.
G Adalia McKenzie Jr. 5-10 6.0 Brooklyn Park, Minn.
G Jada Peebles Sr. 5-10 5.5 Raleigh, N.C.
F Brynn Shoup-Hill Jr. 6-3 5.0 Goshen, Ind.
F Kendall Bostic Sr. 6-2 14.5 Kokomo, Ind.
FYI: Makira Cook went through some individual work before the start of Tuesday afternoon's practice at Ubben Basketball Complex with Illini coach Shauna Green adding Cook still hadn't been fully cleared, as the senior guard deals with an undisclosed injury. Cook, who was named to John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 Watch List on Tuesday, has not played since Illinois' exhibition game on Oct. 30, missing the first two regular-season games for the Illini.
Off the bench
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Gretchen Dolan Fr. 5-11 3.0 Buffalo, N.Y.
G Kam'ren Rhodes So. 5-6 6.5 Chandler, Ariz.
C Camille Hobby Sr. 6-3 11.0 Jacksonville, Fla.
Saint Peter's (1-1)
Starters
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Reilly Sunday So. 5-9 10.5 Moon Township, Pa.
G Rachel Kuhl Sr. 5-7 2.0 Old Bridge, N.J.
G Jada Leonard So. 5-8 7.0 Bronx, N.Y.
F Layla Laws Jr. 6-1 4.0 Pine Beach, N.J.
F Jada Williams Jr. 6-1 12.5 Williamstown, N.J.
FYI: The Peacocks ended a 32-game losing streak on Monday night with a 61-57 home win against Central Connecticut State, as Fatmata Janneh led the way with a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds. It was also the first win for second-year coach Jennifer Leedham at Saint Peter's.
Off the bench
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
F Fatmata Janneh Fr. 6-1 12.0 London
G Mikia Keith Gr. 5-3 3.5 Indianapolis
G Maya Hyacienth Gr. 5-10 0.0 Nottingham, England
Details
Site: State Farm Center (15,544); Champaign.
Radio: Mike Koon will have the call on WDWS 1400-AM and 93.9-FM.
Streaming: BTN Plus (Subscription).
Series: Illinois leads 1-0.
Last meeting: Illinois defeated Saint Peter's 81-55 on Nov. 27, 2004, in Jersey City, N.J.
FYI: The Illini have been outrebounded in each of their first two games of the season, with Morehead State winning on the boards by a 36-32 margin in the season opener before Marquette followed that up with a 28-24 advantage on the glass in last Saturday's 71-67 Illinois loss in Milwaukee.
Beat writer Joe Vozzelli's storylines
Building up confidence in Hobby
Shauna Green had a one-on-one film session with Camille Hobby after Illinois' season opener and ahead of the Illini playing at Marquette on Saturday. Hobby finished with six points and one rebound in 14 minutes against Morehead State. The way the North Carolina State transfer responded four days later — 18 points and seven rebounds in the loss to the Golden Eagles with Hobby also playing a majority of the second half in a double-post lineup alongside starting center Kendall Bostic — was what Green was looking for from Hobby.
"We watched every clip of her in that (Morehead State) game and went through every little thing, offensively, defensively and just so she knows from me," Green said. "We're going to keep really breaking down (film) every time. I'm going to help her so she knows what I want. I know where she's coming from. It was really awesome to see her response and to really work on some of the things we had talked about and what she knew she needed to do.
"I think right there builds trust and then confidence and me telling her that I believe in her and that I know you can do this. That's why you're here, and then it leads to confidence. And I also think you also have to go out there and earn confidence in terms of games."
Lack of awareness at both ends
A word Green used on Tuesday to describe what she hadn't seen enough of from her team through two games is awareness. Especially in the four-point loss at Marquette, with Illinois attempting only 10 three-pointers and missing too many open looks. But also in other situations, like the on-the-ball defense — or lack thereof — Illinois played in the season opener.
"We didn't have a lot of defensive awareness and offensive awareness," Green said. "We had a lot of open players on drives and out of some of our action that we just didn't see. And those would have been inside-out threes that are good threes for us. We need to have more awareness offensively and those will come organically out of our offense by just inside-out drives, being aggressive."
Glass-half-full approach
Jada Peebles spun the Illini's struggles to start the season in a positive direction on Tuesday. The longest-tenured Illinois player at 23 years old said the early games without Makira Cook have made it clear the Illini's issues — whatever they might be — are correctable.
"I think one of the main things that we take away from all of these games is the things that we need to get better at are so fixable," Peebles said. "So I mean these things come into it. Now, it's just building people up with confidence. That's pretty easy. You want people to come in and just shoot the ball. What player doesn't want to come, have the coaches tell you, 'Shoot the ball.' Now, it's just about taking the open shot and making it."
The News-Gazette's Pick
Illinois 90, Saint Peter's 63
Pick the score, and the Illini really should be able to achieve it with the Peacocks in town. This game's place on the schedule is important, with Illinois coming off a tough loss at Marquette and heading east afterward for another big test Saturday against No. 16 Notre Dame in Washington, D.C. (N-G prediction record: 1-1).
