The women's Illinois basketball team had a season for the ages, with head coach Shauna Green taking the youngest team in the Big Ten to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
It was a spot that not a lot of people were expecting them to be in, especially after losing about 80% of their offense from the year before. This Illini took a team with two sophomores and two freshmen in their starting lineup, and ended up putting the college basketball world on notice.
This magical run for the Illini brought them all the way to a clash with the Vanderbilt Commodores in the Round of 32 that unfortunately did not go their way. Illinois showed a lot of heart and grit against a powerhouse of a team, but it was not enough, as they fell to coach Shea Ralph's bunch by a score of 75-57.
As a program, this was obviously not the ending that we wanted to have. It was a moment that certainly put this team at the lowest of lows, but after the game, Green did an impeccable job of reminding her team that they're just getting started.
"We're just going to go up from here" - Coach Green
— Illinois Women's Basketball (@IlliniWBB) March 26, 2026
Listen into our last locker room speech of the season 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/WJfzBDF6SC
"We'll be back. We'll be back, and we'll be stronger than ever." These were the perfect words to wrap up this season, and to even wrap up this video in the grand scheme of things. Green did an absolutely tremendous job of reminding her team that there's nowhere to go but up. As a fan, if you were to watch this, it just makes you want to run through a brick wall for her and the program.
Illinois basketball has a chance to run it back if their young core just sticks together
In a time of NIL deals, and players leaving teams at the drop of a hat, there's always a chance that someone is going to test the waters in the transfer portal. It's not an uncommon occurrence in this day and age, especially with the amount of money that some programs are willing to dish out.
Putting that point aside, Illinois has a chance to do something that not a lot of teams get to do. They have a shot at actually running it back next season, with 12 of the 15 players on their roster being underclassmen and only one senior leaving for graduation.
It is a prime spot to be in for Green and the Illinois basketball program. This team has already grown together and bought into the system that she has put into place in Champaign. They are all already comfortable with each other, and having the likes of junior Gretchen Dolan and freshman Manuella Alves return from injury will only make them stronger.
Granted, there will be a few who will leave the team for one reason or another, but in the grand scheme of things, if the core group stays together, then the sky is the limit for this program. They have a chance to build something really special at Illinois, and it has us fans already geared up for November.