Illini Run Past Penn State for 20th Win

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois cruised to victory on Sunday afternoon, using 20-point outings from Kendall Bostic and Genesis Bryant to take down Penn State, 85-62, in front of a big State Farm Center crowd.

The Illini secured their 20th win of the season for the first time since the 2007-08 season, while the victory also marked their 10th conference win of the year, their most in Big Ten play since 1999-2000.

Bostic recorded her 11th double-double of the season, scoring a team-high 22 points and grabbing a season-best 18 rebounds. Bostic helped the Illini dominate the glass, and she played a big part in the team's 42 points in the paint. She also accounted for eight of the Illini's 17 offensive rebounds.

Bryant returned after missing one game with an injury, and she did not miss a beat with a 21-point performance. Bryant knocked down five 3-pointers, which tied a career-high, despite coming off the bench.

Makira Cook registered 18 points, four rebounds, and six assists, and a team-high two steals. Cook has now scored in double figures in four straight and 18 of the last 19 games.

Ten different players scored in the 23-point win, including eight points from Adalia McKenzie.

Illinois dominated the glass, outrebounding Penn State, 48-31, and the Illini scored 23 second-chance points on their 17 offensive rebounds. The Illini also forced 10 turnovers and tallied 17 points off those turnovers.

The Illini started the game fast, opening with five straight points from Jayla Oden to fuel a 7-0 run over the first 90 seconds of play. After the Illinois lead climbed as high as 10 points in the frame, a Cook 3-pointer as the clock expired gave the hosts a 27-19 advantage, the team's highest first-quarter point total this season. Bostic was active on both ends, registering 10 points and six rebounds, including four boards on the offensive glass in the first frame. 

Illinois continued its strong shooting performance to begin the second quarter, opening the frame on a 15-3 run to push the Illini advantage to 20 points just over halfway through the period. Illinois knocked down three 3-pointers during that stretch, including two from Bryant in her first game back from injury.

The Illini held the Nittany Lions to just one field goal for the remainder of the quarter and eventually took a 48-31 lead into halftime. Bostic recorded a double-double in the first half with 14 points and 11 rebounds, both of which were team-highs in the opening 20 minutes. Illinois shot 50% from 3-point range, led by three triples from Bryant and two from Cook.

Setting the tone early in the third quarter, the Illini used baskets from four of their five starters en route to a 21-2 run over the span of six minutes. Cook accounted for eight points during that stretch, including an and-one layup. Illinois' advantage climbed as high as 33 points in the frame, and the Illini eventually led, 73-40, with 10 minutes to play. The Illini held the Nittany Lions to nine points in the frame, marking the 10th time this season Illinois has held an opponent to single-digit points.

Continuing the trend of starting each quarter with a big run, the Illini used a 10-2 scoring stretch to bring their lead to a game-high 39 points. Illinois gave minutes to multiple freshmen in the final frame, with Kam'Ren Rhodes and Samantha Dewey both taking advantage of their playing time and registering points.

Illinois (20-7, 10-6) will play its final home game of the regular season in its next contest, taking on Nebraska (14-13, 6-10) on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. CT for Senior Night.

QUOTES

Shauna Green

Opening statement:

"Great, great team win. Really loved how we came out from the start, and handled business, and played the way we wanted to play defensively. To hold them in the second and third to 12 and nine points, I thought our defense was really on point. We've been working on that all week. We worked on our press break all week against our practice players, and we got better in that. They came out of their press early -- and they don't normally do that -- because we were getting lay-ups on the other end.

"Just a really great day for us today, but like I told our team, we had an unbelievable week of practice. The focus, the energy that we had this week in practice, I knew that we were gonna play well today. I'm just really happy for these guys because they worked this week, and we got better."

On the team's first 20-win season in 15 years:

"It's huge. I think 20 wins is always, as a coach, that's always a goal. If you can hit 20, you've had a pretty, pretty good season. To think back, if you would have told me we would get 20 wins, I probably would've told you you're crazy. Just so grateful for this team and how they've just approached everything this whole year. From the day I got the job, they've done what we've asked, and they work. They continue to work, and they continue to respond to everything: adversity or good times. I love this group. They're just unbelievable people, and I love being around them. They do things the right way, on and off the floor, and when you can have that, you got something special."

On honoring Theresa Grentz:

"Since I got the job, she's been awesome and has reached out. She watches all the games now, and she said she hasn't been this invested in a team in a long time. It's really cool. It's awesome to have her back. I'd never met her in-person until Friday. I spent some time with her, just me and her, on Friday. I could sit there and listen to her stories for hours, so it was great. Yesterday, she came and was at practice. She talked to the team beforehand, which was really cool to not only see her talk but to see the kids embrace a lot of things that she was saying. I obviously spent some time with her today, too, and talked to her after the game. To do what she's done at different places and to be the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, I mean come on. I just really thought it was great to have her back and honored in front of this crowd, in a place that she's done so much for. If I can win half the games that she won here, I'll take it, but she's just an awesome person. I just really appreciate her support and investment in this program."

Kendall Bostic

On the team's 20-win season:

"It's huge. To think where we've come from and where we built this program from, I think it's really special. Having that many people there today, too, it kind of shows they believe in us now. They're invested in us; we're invested in them. I just kind of it like giving back to the community after years of not being able to. It's huge, and it's really cool for me."

On her 22-point, 18-rebound performance:

"Just getting that first shot and those first couple rebounds built my confidence a little bit. I knew how the ball was feeling out of my hand. I knew where shots were going. They weren't really boxing out, which was kind of nice to be able to fly in and grab some. I just felt the whole game. I felt in rhythm. I felt in a groove. My teammates were getting me the ball. I was able to get rebounds and kick it out to them, so I think everything was just a well-oiled machine today."

Genesis Bryant

On returning from injury:

"The first day I did a full practice was two days ago. Even then, it was a work in progress. I thought it was more mental. Once I kind of got over that mental breakthrough, I felt fine because physically, I was ready. It was just about getting my mental side and matching with my physical side."

On settling in after seeing her first 3-pointer go in:

"If I see one go in, that just makes my confidence go through the roof. Just seeing that first three go in, when you're a shooter, you're just like, 'Oh, here we go.' The basket feels like the ocean at that point."

POST-GAME NOTES 

Player Notes

• Kendall Bostic recorded a 22-point, 18-rebound double-double becoming the first Illini to reach those figures since Nov. 14, 2013, when Amber Moore (27 points, 19 rebounds) did so against Mississippi Valley.

  • Bostic is the first Illini player to post a 20-point, 18-rebound game vs. a Big Ten foe since Jan. 20, 2011, when Karisma Penn (26 points, 18 rebounds) did so versus Ohio State.

  • It marked Bostic's 11th double-double of the season and 17th of her career. 

  • Bostic had completed the double-double well before halftime, tallying her 10th rebound - a defensive board - at the 5:38 mark of the second quarter.

• Genesis Bryant returned to the Illini lineup after missing Illinois' previous game at No. 8-ranked Maryland, and posted 21 points including career-high tying five triples coming off the bench. 

  • Bryant posted her 20th double-digit scoring game of the season with 11 first-half points, and notched 10 more in the second period for the fifth 20-point game of her career. 

• Makira Cook gave the Illini three double-digit scorers, tallying 10 points in the first half and finishing with 18, her team-leading 23rd double-digit scoring game of the season.

  • Cook also recorded a game-high six assists, her ninth game of the year with at least five assists.  

Team Notes

• Tipoff was won by Penn State, but the Illini forced a stop defensively and jumped out to a 7-0 lead. 

  • Illinois never trailed in the contest, the seventh time this season that the Illini never trailed in a victory. 

• Jayla Oden recorded the first five points of the game for the Illini, opening scoring with a layup assisted by Makira Cook at 9:33 in the first quarter, then hitting her first triple of the game, also on an assist by Cook, just 31 seconds later. 

• Illinois opened the game on a 7-0 run.

• Illini pushed the lead to 15-6, forcing Penn State to call a timeout with 4:35 left in the first. 

• Illinois' 27 first-quarter points are the most in an opening period this season, eclipsing the team's 25-point first quarter versus Florida Atlantic (12/21/22). 

• Illinois' 48 first-half points are the most in the first half against a Big Ten opponent this season, surpassing the previous high of 47 at then-No. 3 Ohio State (1/8/23). 

• Illinois pushed its lead to 33 points, 73-40, at the end of the third quarter by outscoring Penn State 25-9 in the period.

  • 25 points marks the Illini's highest-scoring third period against a Big Ten opponent this season. 

  • Penn State's 9 points in the third quarter mark the 10th time this season that the Illini have held an opponent to fewer than 10 points in a single quarter. 

• The Illini's 23-point margin of victory (85-62) marked the team's largest vs. a Big Ten opponent since a 26-point win (95-69) vs. Minnesota on Feb. 5, 2015. 

• The Illini out-rebounded Penn State 48-31, the third-largest rebounding margin this season, and its largest since out-boarding Evansville, 51-28 (+23) on Nov. 19. 

• Illinois posted a 42-28 edge in the paint on Sunday, the 11th time this season that the team has scored 40+ in the paint. 

• Illinois recorded 23 second-chance points, tying the team's season-high set against Evansville (11/19/22). 

• Illinois' 30 bench points vs. Penn State marked the most this season against a Big Ten opponent.

Misc. Notes 

• Starters: Makira Cook, Jayla Oden, Adalia McKenzie, Brynn Shoup-Hill, Kendall Bostic for the second-straight game. Illinois is 1-1 with this unit.
• The Illini moved to 20-7 on the season. 
  • Illinois' first 20-win season since the 2007-08 (20-15)
  • Eighth 20-win season in program history
  • Illinois has 13 more wins than last year's mark, tied for the eighth-best one-year improvement in Big Ten history - second-best improvement in program history.
• Illinois moves to 10-6 in Big Ten play.
  • Illinois' first 10-win conference season since 1999-00 (11-5)
  • Illinois' nine-win improvement in Big Ten play from last year ties for the second-best turnaround in Big Ten history and a new program record.
• Shauna Green is now:
  • 20-7 at Illinois
  • 10-6 in the Big Ten
  • 147-57 as a Division I coach
  • 176-82 overall
• Against Penn State record: 17-39 (56th meeting)
  • 11-12 when playing in Champaign
  • Shauna Green vs. Penn State: 1-0
• Illinois is now 1-0 when wearing its pink uniforms.
• Illinois is now 12-4 in games played before 5 p.m.