The Illini scored the first 20 points of the game en route to an 86-37 win over IP-Fort Wayne on Tuesday.

The Mastodons came out in a box-and-one to keep a close eye on senior forward Angelina Williams. Senior guard Tiffanie Guthrie took advantage of the lack of attention paid to her and scored eight points, and sophomore forward Erin Wigley added six points in that span.

“I knew the ball was going to come to me and it was just a matter of what I did with it,” Guthrie said.

The Mastodons first points didn’t come until seven minutes were gone in the first half when sophomore guard Molly Martin made a three-pointer from the right wing.

They missed their first 11 shots of the game until that point.

After that, the Mastodons kept the game within 20 points for most of the first half.

They ended up shooting 25 percent in the first half.

The Illini made 11 of 12 free throws and shot 42 percent in the first half to take a 43-17 lead into halftime.

The Illini came out in the second half on a 10-1 run to stretch the lead to 35 points.

The Mastodons night was summed up when freshman forward Lisa Bayer dropped a pass off her knee and out of bounds.

The Illini went on another run of 10-2 in the middle of the second half to expand their lead 69-29 and then went on to win the game.

The Illini made 22 of 24 free throws and out-rebounded the Mastodons 51-22.

The Illini shot 62 percent in the second half and 50 percent for the game.

“We were able to run and execute offensively, especially in the second half,” said Illinois head coach Theresa Grentz.

They held the Mastodons to 22 percent for the game.

Guthrie, with 22 points, led the lllini in scoring.

Freshman center Stephanie Chelleen contributed to the Illini cause with 13 points and made all five of her shots.

“If I was open I shot the ball and if I wasn’t I passed it out,” Chelleen said.

The Illini bench scored 41 of the team’s points.

“We had a lot of players in the scoring column and we need that,” Grentz said.