CHAMPAIGN, Ill. --Â Illinois used a 9-0 run late in the fourth quarter to secure its 11th home victory of the season in a 69-62 win over Minnesota at State Farm Center on Sunday afternoon.
The Illini improved to 8-5 in conference play and 18-6 overall, and they secured their first season sweep over the Golden Gophers since 2010.
Illinois never trailed and took care of the ball in the seven-point win, with the team's seven turnovers tying a season-low mark. The Illini also grabbed 13 offensive rebounds, their second-most in conference play, and scored 12 second-chance points.
Makira Cook scored eight of the team's final nine points and finished with 21 points, her 11th game with at least 20 points this season. Cook also registered a team-high five assists.
Adalia McKenzie recorded 20 points in the win, her highest scoring mark since Dec. 29. McKenzie continued her strong rebounding effort with nine boards, including three on the offensive glass. McKenzie made shots when the team needed, including 11 in the opening half.
Kendall Bostic secured her ninth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Bostic also made one steal and one block, extending her block streak to 16 games.
Genesis Bryant finished with nine points, four rebounds, four assists, one block, and one steal. Brynn Shoup-Hill notched six points, nine rebounds, including a team-high four offensive boards, and one block.
The Illini opened the game on a 8-4 run through four minutes of first-quarter action, a stretch that included three straight scoring possessions. A 6-0 Illinois run over 63 seconds pushed the hosts' advantage to eight points, though the Illini eventually led by five, 19-14, after the first period of play. McKenzie scored team-high eight points in the frame.
Shoup-Hill and Jada Peebles both knocked down 3-pointers in the second quarter as both teams continued to try to build some momentum. The Illini led by as many as seven in the frame, but the two sides went into halftime knotted at 35-35.
McKenzie led all scorers with 11 points at the break, while Cook added nine points. The Illini grabbed 10 offensive rebounds in the first half and scored eight second-chance points off those boards.
Illinois opened the third quarter on a 6-0 run on layups from Bryant, Bostic, and Cook. Leading by as many as eight points at various points in the frame, the Illini closed the period with good ball movement that resulted in an easy Bostic layup, pushing her into double figures. Illinois took a 53-45 advantage into the final period after holding Minnesota to 10 points in the frame.
A McKenzie layup to open the fourth quarter pushed the Illini lead to a game-high 10 points. After the Golden Gophers battled back to tie the game at 60, Cook hit two free throws and a midrange jumper to fuel a 9-0 Illinois run and put the hosts back in front with 90 seconds to play. The IIlini knocked down their free throws late to secure their 11th home victory of the season, the eighth time in program history that the team has achieved that mark.Â
Illinois (18-6, 8-5) will play its next two games away from home, beginning with a meeting with Nebraska (13-9, 5-6) in Lincoln on Thursday night at 7 p.m. CT.
QUOTES
Shauna Green
Opening statement:
"A good win for us. We needed this game after a tough game at Michigan, so I'm just really proud of our guys for bouncing back and addressing some of the things we talked about from last game. I don't think it was our best offensive night, but we found ways to win, got stops when we needed to, made big shots when we had to.
"I thought our focus, I thought our discipline defensively was better tonight. The energy, consistently, was better. We did not a great job in the first half in transition defense, but a really great job after we adjusted in halftime and not giving up any easy baskets in transition. And then really defending the 3-point line, which we struggled doing in the first half, so that was key. Not given up threes. We didn't give up one. Micheaux, they went to her a lot more in the second, but we weren't given up those threes that we did in the first half.
"Proud of these guys, and we needed to get this home win because we go on the road now for two games, so this was a big, big big game for us."
On limiting Minnesota to zero second-half 3-pointers:Â
"It was huge. We knew Micheaux was going to get some. It was same in the first game. We held them to three threes the first game, which was huge because these guys can get going. They got capable shooters. The first half, four of those six were in transition, lack of communication, just stuff that we know we need to improve on. We practice it every single day. We talked about it at half, and I don't know why we can't just do that from the start, but we'll keep working on it. More than half of their points in the first half were from three, so that was a huge difference in the game. Credit to our players because they listened, responded, and executed."
Kendall Bostic
On the importance of the win given two straight road games coming up:Â
"You want to win at home and protect your home court whenever you can. Especially heading into road games, it kind of gives you that boost of confidence. We won't have as much stress trying to play on the road, so we can play a little more relaxed. I just think it was important for us to come out and hit them first."
On Makira Cook:
"She does so much for our team. She is a leader, on the court and off the court. Her defense is great. Her communication is great. She keeps us together at times when we need to be drawn back in, so I think she just does so much for us. If she doesn't have her best scoring night, we have other people that can step up and do that. I think her mentality has been great, she does what she needs to do out there, and does what she can."
Adalia McKenzie
On the keys to avoiding back-to-back losses:Â
"Honestly, just our mindset. We have that bounce-back mentality every game. We didn't like the Michigan outcome, but we knew we had an opportunity to go out and bounce back. That's what we did today."
On building momentum in the final month of the regular season:Â
"It's not just about winning games, but winning the day. Every practice, going hard and going 1-0 over that day and just stacking up days."
POST-GAME NOTES
Player Notes:
- Kendall Bostic scored 10 points and added 10 rebounds.
- Recorded her ninth double-double of the season and the 15th of her career.
- Posted her 15th double-digit rebounding effort of the season.
- Tallied her 11th double-digit scoring effort of the season.
- Blocked a shot for the 16th-consecutive game and is up to 40 on the season.
- Genesis Bryant scored nine points, added four rebounds and four assists.
- Adalia McKenzie scored 20 points on 9-for-16 shooting, while adding nine rebounds.
- Sixth 20-point game of the season.
- Led all scorers with eight points in the first quarter on 4-for-6 shooting.
- Had a game-high 11 points to go along with six rebounds at halftime.
- Makira Cook scored 21 points and dropped five assists.
- 11th 20-point game of the season.
- Had nine points and four assists at halftime.
- Back-to-back games with at least four assists.
- Went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
- Brynn Shoup-Hill scored six points and secured nine rebounds.
Team Notes:
- Minnesota won the tip but Illinois was able to force a missed shot.
- Brynn Shoup-Hill scored the first points in the contest, a layup, with an assist from Makira Cook.
- The Illini have won at least 18 games in a season for the first time since 2012-13.
- Have won at least eight Big Ten games for the first time since 2012-13.
- Have won at least 11 home games for the first time since 2012-13.
- Eighth time in program history Illinois has won at least 11 home games in a season.
- Illinois has won two-straight over Minnesota since capturing wins on Jan. 6, 2019, and Jan. 12, 2020.
- Have beaten the Golden Gophers twice in a season for the first time since 2009-10.
- UI held Minnesota to 10 points in the third quarter, the 15th time this season Illinois has had an opponent to 10 points or fewer in a quarter.
- The Illini have posted double-digit offensive rebound totals in 12-straight games.
- Scored eight second-chance points on 10 offensive boards in the first half.
- Despite getting out-rebounded for just the fourth time this season, three Illini players grabbed at least nine boards. Illinois is now 2-2 in such games.
- Illinois out-scored Minnesota in the paint, 36-28.
Misc Notes:
- Starters: Makira Cook, Genesis Bryant, Adalia McKenzie, Brynn Shoup-Hill, Kendall Bostic for the 10th-straight game. Illinois is now 7-4 with this unit.
- The Illini moved to 18-6 on the season.Â
- Illinois moves to 8-5 in Big Ten play.
- Shauna Green is now:
- 18-6 at Illinois
- 8-5 in the Big Ten
- 145-56 as a Division I coach
- 174-81 overall
- Against Minnesota record: 41-31 (72nd meeting)
- 25-10 when playing in Champaign.
- Shauna Green vs. Minnesota: 2-0
- Uniforms: Illinois is now 11-1 when wearing white uniforms.
- Day game record: Illinois is now 11-3 in games played before 5 p.m.
