Aurora, Ill. – The Dominican University Women's Basketball team travels to Aurora University for a chance to upset a top three ranked team in the conference.


Series History vs. Aurora:  
All-Time Record / Streak: 15-19 / L7
-Dominican and Aurora first played on 12/1/2007 at Aurora University. The Spartans won 78-76.
-Before the 7-game losing streak, the Stars won 6 straight games from 2018-2020, with three games played in 2019.
-DU is 6-11 at Aurora University.
-Dominican is averaging 64.56 points per game against the Spartans.
 
  
DU in Review:  
- The Stars are 8-9 (2-7 NACC) on the 2025-26 season.  
-DUWBB is 6-2 to finish up their non-conference schedule.  
-DU is 4-5 on the road.  
-Dominican went 5-20 overall in their 2024-2025 season, while going 1-15 inside the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC).  
 -DUWBB missed the tournament last season and aims to get back into the NACC tournament for the first time since the 2021-2022 season.  
- The Stars won their opening game for the first time since the 2019-2020 season.  
- Head coach Tethnie Carrillo enters her 2nd full season at Dominican and has a career record of 148-231.  
  
Last Time Out:  
-The Stars traveled to Concordia Wisconsin for a chance to jump the Falcons in the conference standings, but CUW had something to say about that winning 65-45.
-Freshman Kennedy Yost led the way for the Stars, scoring 18 points on 7-14 shooting and 2-3 shooting from deep. The freshman also grabbed 7 rebounds.
-Freshman Emily Bouaphanh played significant minutes off the bench, scoring 6 points and grabbing 2 rebounds.
-Junior Kaitlyn Milison has continued to stuff the stat sheet, collecting 6 points, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 assists and 4 rebounds.  
 


Familiar Faces:  
-Dominican returns Junior Aya Deiri, who has been a huge factor on the defensive side for the Stars. In the 2024-2025 season, Deiri played 502 minutes, playing 23 games and collecting 73 rebounds as a guard. Aya also added 26 steals and 3 blocks, solidifying her presence on the defensive end.  
-Junior Lia Saunders is a crucial returning player for this DUWBB squad. Saunders started in all 25 games last season and played in 653 minutes, which led the team. Lia was all over the floor for Dominican, collecting 153 points, 62 assists, 85 rebounds, 36 steals, and shooting 74% from the charity stripe.    
-Junior Kaitlyn Milison is back on the hardwood for Dominican, playing in 25 games last season. Milison stretched the floor as a power forward for Dominican, knocking down 8 threes last season and shooting 38.8% from the floor. Kaitlyn picked up 159 points and 8 blocks.  
-Sophomore Maya Kasuboski is back in her sophomore season after playing in 23 games last season. Kasuboski hit 9 threes in her minutes and is hoping to take the sophomore step for this DU squad. Maya helped on the boards last season, collecting 34 rebounds.  
-Senior Kamila Gajkowska is back for the Dominican University Women's Basketball.  Gajkowska played in 25 games and started in 11 of those games, doing all the dirty work for the Stars. Kamila collected 24 steals and 13 blocks, with 96 total rebounds, with 33 of those being offensive rebounds. The senior shot 78.6% from the charity stripe in her 452 minutes of action.  
  
   
Shining Stars:  
-Junior Lia Saunders is the leading point scorer for the Stars with 201 points on the season. Saunders has also collected 42 assists in her 466 minutes played.  
-Junior Aya Deiri has continued to be all over the floor for Dominican. She has collected 62 points, 44 rebounds, 24 assists, and 23 steals in 361 minutes. 
-Freshman Kennedy Yost was a huge addition for the Stars earlier on. Yost is second on the team in points with 147. The freshman has also grabbed 98 rebounds, with 28 of them being offensive. Yost is also shooting 81.1% from the charity stripe. Yost has put up 2 double-doubles.  
-Freshman Allannah Jackson fills up the stat sheet in more ways than one. Jackson has 36 assists, 85 rebounds, 47 steals, and 78 points.  
-Freshman Emily Bouaphanh is a key player for Dominican off the bench, bringing the energy every time she steps on the floor. Bouaphnah has 57 points and 16 steals in the freshman campaign.  
-Junior Teagan Dahl has found her stride in a Stars uniform, being the second leading scorer on the team with 144 points. Dahl is shooting 33.3% from downtown and has hit 12 threes this year. The junior has also recorded 21 steals and 80 rebounds. Dahl has scored double figures in 8 of the 17 games played.   
-Freshman Eva Herbig has been a flamethrower from deep for the Stars, as she is shooting 24.4% from deep with 19 made threes. The freshman has 65 points on the season.  
-Junior Kaitlyn Milison has been a force for the Stars as of late. Milison has recorded 87 points, 15 steals, 7 blocks, 15 assists, and 61 rebounds.
   
Scouting Report: 
-Aurora is 15-3 overall with a 9-2 NACC conference record and is currently sitting in 3^rd in the conference standings.
-The Spartans are 7-1 on their home court.
-AU is riding a 4-game win streak, beating CUW, MSOE, CUC and Lakeland during this win streak.
-Aurora's last loss was on January 10^th at Edgewood University with a score of 68-63.
-The Spartans are averaging 79.4 points per game, 41.9 rebounds per game, and shooting 40.9% from the floor.