Playing its best basketball of the season, the Fighting Illini women's team used a dominating second quarter and balanced scoring to upset No. 14 Indiana 86-66 on Monday at State Farm Center.
Makira Cook led six players in double figures with 22 points. Kendall Bostic posted her ninth double-double of the season with 12 point and 11 rebounds. Genesis Bryant and Adalia McKenzie had 15 and 14 points respectively. Bryant played all 40 minutes.
"I'm really proud of how we came out and executed our game plan," Illini head coach Shauna Green said. "I thought it was a great overall 40 minutes for us. We were able to hit some shots and score the ball. To put 86 points up against a really good defensive team in Indiana is really good for us."
The Illini shot 52 percent from the floor and outscored Indiana in the paint 42-36. Illinois sealed it at the charity stripe, going 20-for-24 from the line, including 13-for-14 in the final two minutes of the game to close it out.
The second quarter was decisive. Illinois ended the first half on an 18-4 run to take a 44-28 lead into the locker room. The Illini scorched the nets in the first half, going 20-for-33 from the floor.
Indiana turned up the heat defensively and went on a 7-0 run to open the third quarter, but the Illini answered with a run of its own. The final turning point came at the 4:39 mark in the fourth quarter when Illinois forced an IU shot clock violation then cruised to the 20-point win.
All-Big Ten forward Mackenzie Holmes paced Indiana with 24 points, but was in and out of the lineup in the second half with foul trouble. 13 of her points came in the first quarter. In a key stat, Illinois limited Holmes, the No. 9 leading rebounder in the Big Ten, to just two boards.
"Holmes had 15 early, but I thought we did a really good job on her as the game went on with bringing some doubles to try to neutralize her a little bit ," Green said. "She's so good, and she's hard to prepare for. For us to hold her to one rebound is probably the biggest stat of the game."
Illinois (13-12) has won three of its last four games to move to over .500. It is tied for seventh in the Big Ten standings at 7-8. Illinois entered the game at No. 50 in the NET rankings.
Illinois hits the road in its next contest, traveling west to take on No. 4/4 Iowa on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff at 12 p.m. CT will air nationally on FS1.
