Illinois (9-2) faced off against its second Ohio Valley Conference competitor of the season on Sunday and padded its record with another triumph, 73-50. Southern Indiana (8-3) was expected to hold its own in the matchup after its four-point loss to Indiana (8-3) on Dec. 4. However, Illinois blew by to cement a two-game win streak. 

“Home court advantage is like gold,” said head coach Shauna Green.

This has held true for the Illini, as they are undefeated at the State Farm Center this season. 

Rocky start

The first quarter was low scoring with constant back-and-forth possession. Both teams wanted to attack the game from the tip, but the pace seemed too aggressive. Because of this, both teams threw the ball away or wasted possessions early on.

The Screaming Eagles were on top at the end of the first quarter, ahead 13-9 over the Illini. Both teams struggled to break through due to solid defensive efforts. Each had taller forwards down low they wanted to feed to. For Illinois, it was fifth-year forward Kendall Bostic, and for Southern Indiana, it was graduate student forward/center Madi Webb. 

These passes continued to be sent over or batted away, so the teams were forced into short-range jumpers. Both teams only managed two points from the paint. They both only attempted three layups, and none fell in. 

This foreshadowed what ended as a game of few layups with only 32 attempted. In each of Illinois’ two most recent games, over 50 were attempted. 

Jumpers and threes clinched this game for the Illini. When the team couldn’t feed the ball low to Bostic, they passed around the perimeter and broke toward the basket, only to pull up before reaching the defense.  

Locked down paint

From tip-off, neither team let up on defending the paint. Southern Indiana planted Webb in the center to hold down Bostic, and Illinois had Bostic and senior forward Brynn Shoup-Hill to post up in the paint. This worked effectively in the first quarter before the two teams could adjust. 

By the second quarter, the Illini were off to a much better start and moved the ball more fluidly. They controlled the pace on offense despite the Screaming Eagles pressing high early on. 

The Illini also found their secret weapon in this quarter when they subbed in freshman forward Berry Wallace to have three of their bigs on the floor. Southern Indiana tried to get around this by running a sweep often. However, quick guards and this trio of defenders made the attempts futile. The Screaming Eagles were held to only four points in the second quarter.  

Having Wallace, Shoup-Hill and Bostic defending for the Illini was crucial in overturning the lead. While Bostic stayed central, Shoup-Hill and Wallace prevented the Screaming Eagles from getting to the paint at all. The two pushed the Screaming Eagles further into the perimeter, where they struggled to convert. Southern Indiana was only 36.5% from the floor compared to Illinois’ 41.7%. The Screaming Eagles put up a similar number of shots, but the Illini managed to edge out the competition.

With these three on the court, Southern Indiana struggled to get any feed-ins and had to rely on jumpers that kept getting pushed further out. Within three minutes of all three forwards stepping on the court together, Wallace had a steal and a three, Shoup-Hill a block and Bostic tipped one in to give Illinois the lead, 14-13. 

Bostic, Wallace and Shoup-Hill bear down

The freshman was everywhere on the court. She defended heavily, then trucked down the court to set up out wide. Wallace knocked down shots all afternoon. She led the team in scoring with 18 points and converted 5-10 field goals.

Wallace also helped the Illini to one of their best arc performances yet. The team was 7-21 beyond the arc, and Wallace knocked down three of them. She attempted the second most threes behind fifth-year guard Genesis Bryant. 

Additionally, Shoup-Hill was solid all-around. She set a season-best in blocks, stuffing the Screaming Eagles three times. She stole the ball once and made two assists as well. While her conversions were lacking, her rebounding was not. She put up only three points but snatched nine boards. 

Bostic fought under the rim, even grabbing her own rebound in the fourth quarter for a putback. She blew by her previous season-high rebounds with 16 boards against the Screaming Eagles. Bostic was right behind Wallace with 17 points. 

Overall, the three played very well together up top. All standing above six feet, they could kick the ball to each other without much interference.

“When you have versatile players as a point guard, it’s really fun,” Bryant said about the trio. “They’re big, but they can shoot at all three levels, they can dribble, and they can pass. It’s fun getting creative out there and knowing they’re ready for me.”

Impactful all-around effort

Every Illini showed up on the court. Sophomore guard Jasmine Brown-Hagger started today, stepping up to fill in for fifth-year guard Makira Cook. Brown-Hagger’s main contribution was sticking to the ball. She stole the ball three times and got on the ground to fight for loose possessions multiple times. 

Sophomore guard Cori Allen was notably impactful as well. Allen brought in a good energy off the bench and played a great eight minutes. She grabbed three rebounds and put up a buzzer-beater before half. 

“It’s the little things,” Green said about Allen. “That was her best eight minutes she’s had here.”

Those little things added up, and now Illinois is close to 10 wins before heading into more conference play. With a tough Big Ten, these pre-conference wins are crucial, and Illinois continues to secure them.

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