The women's Illinois basketball program had an offensive explosion on Saturday against Southern University.
Illinois defeated the Jaguars 99-28 for their second win of the season. Six players scored in double figures at the State Farm Center, led by Cearah Parchment with 18 points and Berry Wallace with 13 points. The last time Illinois had six players in double figures was in 2025, when they defeated Le Moyne 100-28.
Illinois won their game handily against Southern, and after starting the season ranked No. 23 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll, they were promoted to No. 22 in this week's rankings.
NEW: Women's College Basketball AP Poll🚨https://t.co/Ag8Vqv69Uz pic.twitter.com/VYBgAALF1e
— On3 (@On3) November 9, 2026
Shauna Green and Co. are "Feeling 22" entering the second week of November. They have jumped one spot from No. 23 to No. 22, while teams like North Carolina have fallen after a dismal start to the season.
Illinois will play two more mid-major programs, Southeast Missouri State and Ball State, before getting into the meat of their schedule against Marquette and Saint Joseph's.
Illinois basketball will need to continue this success against arguably the best conference in the country
The Big Ten was very strong during the 2025-26 season, with eight of the conference's 18 teams finishing in the AP Top 25 ranking. The UCLA Bruins led the charge for their conference, winning the Big Ten's first national championship since 2000 with a 37-1 record.
This season will be no different, as 72.2% of the conference is projected to make the NCAA tournament come March. The quality of play is going to be high, and Illinois will need to be ready for what's to come in conference play.
Illinois is going to have a lot of tough games this season, highlighted by a West Coast trip to face No. 10 UCLA and No. 3 USC on January 30 and February 2. They will have to face off against some of the top players in the country, including Jazzy Davidson, Juju Watkins, Sienna Betts, and even Jaloni Cambridge.
It might be hard to extrapolate Illinois' success throughout the rest of the season, but it would be hard to overlook how confident and determined they've been playing. This team had a rough start in their season opener against Detroit Mercy, but in their last three quarters, they've outscored their opponents 147-39.
Simply put, this team is ready to put the country on notice. Expect Illinois to turn heads throughout the 2026-27 season, leading to a promising NCAA tournament berth.
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