Illini Blitz Badgers, Advance in Indy

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Fighting Illini women's basketball team jumped out to a 17-0 lead and never looked back en route to a 67-42 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers in the first round of the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday.

Freshman guard Aaliyah Nye recorded a career high 17 points, including four buckets from behind the arc. Sophomore forward Kennedi Myles recorded a double-double, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Jeanae Terry added another 11 points to the final tally.

It was all Illinois from start to finish. The Fighting Illini started out the game on a 17-0 run, and held Wisconsin to two points in the first quarter, taking a 24-2 lead into the second quarter. The Illini cooled in the second quarter, but maintained their lead, leading 32-12 at halftime. The Orange and Blue stifled the Badgers offense in the first half, holding them to 12% field goal on 4/33 from the field. Their first field goal came at the 8:52 mark of the second quarter.

They were draining 3s in Indy tonight. ??@illiniWBB is moving on. ?? pic.twitter.com/fUVrrBtaE0

— Illinois on BTN (@IllinoisOnBTN) March 10, 2021

The Fighting Illini extended their lead in the second half, outscoring the Badgers 35-30 to secure the 67-42 win. The Illini's 25-point victory marked the largest Big Ten Tournament win in program history.   

STAT OF THE GAME
Illinois opened the game on a 17-0 run and led 24-2 at the end of the first quarter. The Illini held Wisconsin to 0-18 shooting in the period. The 17-0 run is the longest of the season for the Orange & Blue.

TEAM NOTES

• This marks Illinois' first Big Ten Tournament win since March 1, 2017, when the 12th-seeded Fighting Illini downed No. 13 seed Nebraska, 79-70. It's also the first Big Ten Tournament win for Illinois head coach Nancy Fahey (1-3 all-time record).
• Illinois also earns its first win over Wisconsin since Feb. 10, 2019 (a 78-68 decision in Champaign).
• Illinois is 4-2 all-time against Wisconsin at the Big Ten Tournament, while Wisconsin continues to lead the overall series, 40-38.
• Coupled with its win over Minnesota in its March 5 regular-season finale, Illinois has won back-to-back games for the first time since Dec. 10-20, 2019, when it won three in a row against Merrimack (75-72), Evansville (59-44) and at Missouri (58-51). It also marks the first time the Fighting Illini have won consecutive games against Big Ten opponents since Jan. 4-8, 2015, when they won 91-76 at Penn State and 73-61 at home vs. Iowa.
• This was Illinois' largest margin of victory since the 2019-20 season opener, when the Fighting Illini downed Chicago State, 96-66 on Nov. 5, 2019, in Champaign.
• The Illini defense held Wisconsin to 0-19 shooting overall to begin the game. UW's first field goal came with 8:52 left in the second quarter.
• Wisconsin then held Illinois to an 0-9 start from the floor in the second quarter, pulling to within 24-11 before Kennedi Myles' long jumper with 3:34 left to play before halftime.  
• Illinois led 32-12 at halftime, the fifth time this season that Illinois has led at the break. The team improved to 3-2 this season when leading at the break with wins over Indiana State (Nov. 25) and Omaha (Dec. 6) and losses at Nebraska (Dec 10) and vs. Nebraska (Jan. 25).  
• Illinois led by as many as 27 points vs. Wisconsin on Tuesday. It matches the team's largest margin this season when the team also enjoyed a 27-point advantage in its season-opening win over Indiana State (68-49) on Nov. 25.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Aaliyah Nye recorded a career-high 17 points. Nye reached double-figures scoring for the seventh time in her freshman season, all coming against Big Ten Opponents.  
• Kennedi Myles recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. It marks her fourth double-double of the season and the 12^th of her career. Her 11 rebounds marked the 16^th time she has pulled down double-digit rebounds in a game. Myles also recorded a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds in Round 1 vs. Wisconsin at last season's Big Ten Tournament.
• Jeanae Terry posted 11 points, her 11^th double-digit scoring game of the season and the 19^th of her career.

NEXT UP
The Fighting Illini advance to Wednesday's second round of the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament where they will face No. 5-seeded Northwestern (13-7, 11-7 B1G). Tipoff between the Illini and the Wildcats is set for 1:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network. Mike Koon will call the action for the Illini on WDWS 1400 AM. Streaming audio will be available at FightingIllini.com and live stats will be at BigTenStats.com.