Illinois (8-2, 0-1) won its 10th straight home game, beating Bradley (5-3) 70-52. It was a tough, gritty win for the Illini. The game went back and forth throughout the first three quarters, and senior guard Adalia McKenzie led the charge for the Illini, scoring a season-high 23 points.
“This program needs to be about toughness,” said head coach Shauna Green after the win. “Being relentless, diving on the floor, defending, rebounding, grit — all the dirty work. That’s what I want our identity to be.”
The Illini showcased exactly that. They were all over the floor, defending, rebounding and playing hard. Three players played over 37 minutes, fighting fatigue to finish the game strong.
A tale of quarters
The Illini started slow in the first quarter, making just one of their seven shots. Bradley led 7-2 before Illinois got things going. Fifth-year guard Genesis Bryant and McKenzie got to the rim to get Illinois back in the game.
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
However, it wasn’t easy sailing after that. Bradley played a gritty first half. Both teams had scoring droughts throughout the half. Illinois uncharacteristically got beaten out for offensive rebounds. The ball slipped out of a player’s hand multiple times, and Bradley ended up with it.
The third quarter wasn’t much different. Both teams played tough defense. It was a back-and-forth quarter, with Bradley chipping away at Illinois’ lead. The fourth quarter is often where a game is won or lost, and Illinois came out strong.
The Illini defense held the Braves to eight points in the fourth quarter. McKenzie and Bryant were active on defense, grabbing steals and forcing mistakes. Bradley couldn’t find the bottom of the basket for the entire quarter.
On offense, Illinois was relentless. The team was aggressive, forcing its way to the rim and scoring. Bradley couldn’t stop McKenzie from getting to the rim. After being up only three midway through the third quarter, the Illini won by 18.
Foul frustration
Bradley was called for 16 fouls, more than double Illinois’ six. Bradley head coach Kate Popovec-Goss was unhappy, screaming at the refs consistently throughout the game. Despite being on the favorable end, Green wasn’t too happy with the refs either.
“I want to win at a high, high level,” Green said. “And sometimes I go a little crazy. But you know what? I’m not going to change who I am.”
With all the foul trouble, the Illini got to the charity stripe 12 times and made 10. It was big for them as the game got close in the third quarter before the Illini pulled ahead. The Braves only got to the free-throw line four times all game.
Player notes
Playing with as much energy and aggression as always, McKenzie led the charge for the Illini. Every time she drove to the rim, the ball seemed to fall in the hoop. She scored a season-high 23 points.
On defense, she secured three steals. In the third quarter, she switched to senior guard Soleil Barnes, who usually averages 14 points per game. When McKenzie was on her, she scored just five points.
“I wanted to run out on the floor multiple times and just hug ‘Dal,” Green said. “I think that’d be frowned upon, but that’s how her joy playing the game, the passion she has — it’s just absolutely to me everything that … our program needs to be.”
In the last few games, fifth-year forward Kendall Bostic was less efficient than normal. Against Bradley, she looked like her usual dominant self. She scored a team-leading 13 points in the first half, making six of her 10 shots.
She kept it up in the second half and finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Her double-double is the sixth of the season and her 40th as an Illini.
Bryant built off her strong performance against No. 12 Ohio State (9-0), scoring 15 points. She shot 46% from the floor but took a backseat to McKenzie and Bostic. With fifth-year guard Makira Cook out, Bryant leaned into the playmaker role with a team-high four assists.
In her second game back, freshman forward Berry Wallace logged many minutes. She played 25 minutes but scored just two points. However, she didn’t look like a freshman. She persevered on defense and looked confident shooting the ball. She put up two three-point attempts, and while she didn’t make either, she had no trouble stepping up and shooting.
Freshman forward Irene Noya Catoira played her first minutes of the season. In the last minute, she subbed in and put up a layup for her first collegiate points. The bench and the arena exploded as the ball fell through the basket.
Next up
Illinois has a short turnaround, playing Southern Indiana (8-2) on Sunday. Southern Indiana is a tough team and kept it close against Indiana (7-3) but fell 67-63. It will be the second game in a five-game home stretch for the Illini. Opening tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. The game will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
@ben_some16
