Illinois’ first game of 2022 ended with a loss against Ohio State 90-69. The Buckeye’s had a strong second half with Taylor Mikesell leading the team with 32 points. 

For the Illini, De’Myla Brown led the team with 13 points, and Kendall Bostic was right behind her earning her third double-double of the season with 11 points and 16 rebounds. 

The first half for both teams was a slow start since Illinois and Ohio State were playing their first game of the year. 

Illinois gained an early lead with the help of Erika Porter and Aaliyah Nye. However, it wasn’t long until Mikesell started her scoring spree of the night, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers. 

Efforts from Brown and Bostic helped regain the lead. and with two minutes to go in the first quarter, Illinois were up 14-9. To end the first 10 minutes, the Buckeyes closed in on the lead, but free throws from Jada Peebles gave the Illini the slight 18-17 going into the break. 

Come the second quarter, Ohio State woke up and started to press Illinois in hopes for a mistake. While they didn’t get the mistakes they were hoping for, the Illini couldn’t finish their shots allowing Tanaya Beacham and Rikki Harris to add to Mikesell’s scoring tally. 

Less than five minutes left before halftime, the Buckeyes extended their lead into the double digits from all around the court 44-33. 

In the third quarter, Ohio State scored a whopping 31 points, giving a lot of confidence to the Buckeyes in Columbus. Jacy Sheldon started the quarter off with two layups followed by points from Mikesell to extend the lead to 12. 

The Illini struggled to score points as the Buckeyes held a solid defense with the press causing a massive amount of turnovers. Ohio State never had a dull moment in the third quarter as they were looking sound on the court while Illinois couldn’t get into a rhythm. By the end of the 10 minutes, Ohio State was up 75-48, and a comeback from Illinois was out of reach. 

However, in the last quarter, Illinois turned it around going on 16-4 run until the 3:40 mark, fighting for a late comeback. Ohio State was still up 15 points and loosen their guard on defense a little, allowing for some easy points from the line for Illinois. 

The run didn’t last though as Ohio State continued their domination on the court, ending the last two minutes of the game with an 8-5 run of their own to win 90-69. 

Coming up next for Illinois will be its game on Sunday against Wisconsin in Champaign. 

@AngelleCortes

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