ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Four Illini scorers finished in double figures to give Illinois a 77-64 road win over Michigan at Crisler Center on Wednesday, snapping the Orange and Blue's seven-game skid against the Wolverines.
The Fighting Illini scored on their first eight possessions and never looked back, holding a lead for the final 39:24 to hand Michigan just its second home loss of the campaign. Illinois secured its second conference away win of the year and picked up its first victory over the Wolverines since 2015.
"That was a great game. We showed so much toughness and resiliency, and we had poise throughout the whole game," said head coach Shauna Green. "We talked about starting fast, and then we talked about one battle at a time. Defensively, I thought we were great. We were everywhere. It was just a great overall team performance. I could not be happier with this group right now."
Makira Cook recorded her sixth consecutive game in double figures with a team-high 20 points, including nine points on 4-for-4 shooting in the pivotal third quarter. Cook shot 67% from the field while also amassing five rebounds and a team-high six assists, her fourth-highest total this season. She also grabbed two steals, both of which came in the first half.
Camille Hobby went 8-for-9 from the field and made her final six shots before finishing with 16 points. After totaling a team-high eight points in the first quarter, Hobby led the way with 12 points at the break. She also added five rebounds, two blocks, and one steal, which marked her second game this season with multiple swats.
Adalia McKenzie poured in 16 points, her most in conference play this season. McKenzie scored 10 points in the second half and made multiple big plays on both ends of the court throughout the game, including grabbing a team-high four steals, which equaled her season-best tally. She also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and dished out three assists.
Kendall Bostic notched 12 points while playing all 40 minutes for the second time in her career. Bostic also accumulated seven rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal.
Gretchen Dolan scored all six of her points in the second quarter, five of which came in the span of 23 seconds early in the frame. Dolan also registered one rebound, one assist, and one steal.
The Illini shot 54% and won the rebounding margin, 33-23. Grabbing 11 offensive boards, the Orange and Blue totaled 14 second-chance points, and they scored eight fast-break points on nine steals.
The Fighting Illini were scorching hot from the field to begin the game, starting 7-for-7 over the first five minutes of play. Genesis Bryant accounted for the team's first points, which came from beyond the arc, before Hobby tallied the next four to fuel a 7-0 Illinois run. Cook then scored the next four points before McKenzie got going via a steal and two free throws, and Bostic joined the fun with a midrange jumper for her first points. Cook pushed the Illini lead to double digits, 18-8, after dropping her defender and hitting a wide-open 3-pointer.
All five starters registered points within the first four minutes of the contest, though the Wolverines clawed their way back to cut their deficit to two points late in the first quarter. Hobby notched eight points while shooting 80% in the opening period as the Orange and Blue held a 24-22 advantage through 10 minutes.
Dolan poured in the Illini's first five points of the second quarter to extend Illinois' lead to seven and force a Michigan timeout less than two minutes into the frame. Hobby moved into double figures just over one minute later, helping the Orange and Blue open the frame on a 9-3 run.Â
Holding the Wolverines without a field goal for over four minutes, the visitors took advantage by piecing together a 7-2 scoring stretch to re-establish a nine-point edge. Michigan cut its deficit to three points late in the first half, though Cook scored the final two points of the period to send the Illini into the break with a 42-37 lead.
Illinois went 55.2% from the field in the first half, and Hobby's 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting gave the away side a five-point advantage at the intermission. The Illini grabbed six steals in the opening 20 minutes, with Cook and McKenzie each grabbing two.
Michigan cut its deficit to a single point within the first minute of the second half, but Hobby got the Illini on the board via a layup off an offensive rebound. Her basket started an 8-2 run for the Illini, a streak that included points from four of the team's five starters and put the visitors back in front by seven, 50-43.
Responding with two free throws, the Wolverines cut the Illini's lead to seven points, but five consecutive points from Cook pushed the Orange and Blue's advantage back up to double digits. Her five points fueled a 9-2 scoring stretch to close the frame, giving Illinois a 63-49 edge with 10 minutes left on the clock.
McKenzie accounted for the team's first two points of the fourth quarter, a play made possible by a strong defensive effort. Making a steal underneath the Illini's basket, McKenzie tied her season-high scoring mark in conference play with the uncontested layup. Bostic then found herself open in the paint, and her layup pushed Illinois' edge to a game-high 18 points with just under seven minutes to play.
The Illini led by double digits for the entirety of the fourth quarter, holding the Wolverines without a field goal for the final 2:20 to secure the valuable road victory and split the regular-season series.
Moving back to .500 on the season, Illinois (10-10, 4-6 B1G) remains on the road for a meeting with Purdue on Monday night. Tipoff from Mackey Arena is set for 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
POSTGAME NOTES
Player Notes:
- Makira Cook scored 20 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out six assists.
- Scored in double figures for the sixth straight contest.
- Has consecutive 20-point performances.
- Has scored at least 16 points in three-straight.
- Went 2-for-3 from beyond the arc, her third straight game with multiple 3-pointers.
- Has at least four assists in three straight games.
- Kendall Bostic scored 12 points and added seven rebounds.
- Went 5-for-8 from the floor.
- Leads the team with 100 field goals made on the season.
- Has secured at least seven boards in nine-straight games.
- Is eight rebounds away from ninth all-time in program history.
- Played all 40 minutes for the second time in three games.
- Camille Hobby scored 16 points and had five rebounds.
- Recorded the 400th rebound of her career in the third quarter.
- Went 8-for-9 from the floor.
- Has back-to-back games with at least eight field goals.
- Scored at least 14 points in back-to-back games for the first time this season.
- Led the team with eight first-quarter points, going 4-for-5 from the floor.
- Registered a team-high 12 points in the first half, going 6-for-7 from the floor while making her last four FG attempts in the opening two periods.
- Adalia McKenzie scored 16 points, secured eight rebounds, had three assists and four steals.
- Her four steals match her season-high mark.
- Gretchen Dolan came off of the bench and scored six points.
- Dolan was the first Illini off the bench, entering at the first media timeout.
Team Notes:
- Michigan won the tip, and the Wolverines opened the scoring from the free-throw line.
- Illinois knocked down their first seven shots of the game, including going 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.
- The Illini took advantage of their sharp shooting by opening the game on an 18-8 run.
- Four Illini scored in double figures (Bostic, Cook, Hobby, McKenzie).
- Five Illini scored at least six points in the first half.
- After Michigan cut the Illinois lead to one by making it a 42-41 game in the third quarter, the Illini ended the final 9:14 of the period on a 21-8 run to take a 14-point advantage into the fourth quarter.
- Illinois scored 70+ points against Michigan for the first time since Feb. 1, 2017, when they scored 70 in Champaign.
- Wednesday marked the first time the Illini surpassed the 70-point mark in Ann Arbor since Feb. 7, 2016.
- The Illini held Michigan to 15 points or less in three of four quarters and are up to 43 quarters of holding opponents to 15 points or less on the season.
- The Illini captured their first victory over the Wolverines since Feb. 28, 2015, snapping an eight-game skid against Michigan.
- First win over the Wolverines in Ann Arbor since Feb. 4, 2008.
- The Illini held the Wolverines to their fewest points in the series since 2015, when they held Michigan to 60 points.
- The Illini held the Wolverines to their fewest points on its home court (64) since Feb. 20, 2023, when Michigan scored 61.
Misc. Notes:
- Starters: Makira Cook, Genesis Bryant, Adalia McKenzie, Kendall Bostic, Camille Hobby
- This lineup is now 5-3 on the season.
- Shauna Green is now:
- 32-20 at Illinois
- 159-70 as a Division I coach
- 188-95 overall
- Illinois vs. Michigan: 41-38 (79th meeting)
- Illinois is now 3-2 when wearing blue uniforms this season.
- UI is now 2-4 in true road games this season.
- The Illini are now 5-2 in games starting after 5 p.m. CT this season.
- The Illini are now 4-4 in January.
QUOTES
On her evaluation of the game:
"That was a great game. We showed so much toughness and resiliency, and we had poise throughout the whole game. We talked about starting well, and then we talked about one battle at a time. Defensively, I thought we were great. We were everywhere. It was just a great overall team performance. I could not be happier with this group right now."
On the Illini winning the rebounding margin, 33-23:
"I told our team this multiple times in our prep, again today, and then when we got to halftime: If we win the rebounding battle, we win this game. We did that, and we also took care of the basketball at an elite level. You do those two things, and we made some shots tonight. Makira was sick, and I told her she was gonna have her Michael Jordan flu game. What an unbelievable performance by her and the entire team."
On Hobby's performance (16 points while shooting 8-for-9 from the field):
"She's making shots. There was one time in the second half where we called a play, and it wasn't the play. She kind of broke it off and hit an elbow shot. When you have players who make plays like that, it's hard to guard us. She's playing at a really high level right now, and so is everyone else. Again, we're playing really good basketball. If there's a time to play really good basketball, I'll take it heading into February."
On the team's attitude and energy:
"When you're on the road against a team like this that has beaten us the last two times in my career here, I thought our start was gonna be really important for us to have confidence and also to set the tone. We wanted to be like, 'Hey, you're gonna have to deal with us.' We scored on our first eight possessions. I don't think we've done that all year. We came out, and we were sharp on offense and we were really sharp defensively and holding them to one-and-done. It was able to get us that lead.Â
"We haven't played a game in a long time with the lead that long. To do that on the road against a really good Michigan team, I'm just really proud. We showed some toughness, and that's what we've been searching for. You saw that energy. They were not going to lose today. They were not going to lose."
On the team's mindset heading into the game:
"The mindset was to play really good defense, get stops, and let our offense come to us. That's the mindset we come into every single game with. We wanted this game really bad, especially how they beat us back at home. That wasn't us. We made the choice to just go out and do what we do."
On the importance of getting the ball into the paint:
"We love getting paint touches. That's part of our game, and our strength is getting to the basket. We always just talk about taking advantage of our advantages and just being aggressive at the rim."
On the team's collective defensive effort:
"We take pride in our defense. Personally, I just want to stop whoever I'm guarding, get stops, and guard their best player. I want to give my all on defense because defense matters. That's a part of our identity. I love this team. I'm so proud of us. We work so hard."
On the team's outlook after back-to-back Big Ten wins:
"We feel really good, but we know we just have to keep our head straight to our goal of going 1-0. We have to stay focused, do what we can, and not getting too big-headed. This was a really big win, and Minnesota was a big win for us, too. We want to keep going forward and keep doing what we have to do."
