Illinois (11-3, 1-2) suffered its first loss at home this season on Tuesday. Washington (11-4, 2-1) won 84-75, breaking Illinois’ 13-game home winning streak. Illinois dropped the last game of its five-game home stand, ending the slate 4-1.
Fifth-year guard Genesis Bryant tied her career high in points despite the loss, scoring 32. She looked similar to the Bryant of last season, knocking down threes and driving to the rim aggressively.
Back and forth, back and forth
Both offenses came ready to play on Tuesday. Illinois shot 47.5% from the floor, and Washington shot 54.8% from the floor. It was a back-and-forth game, with both teams scoring often. It wasn’t easy to score, however, as both defenses played just as stout as the offenses.
Illinois controlled things early in the game, scoring easily and clamping down on defense. The Illini held the Huskies late into the shot clock, even forcing a few shot clock violations.
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However, Washington’s offense wasn’t quiet for long. It heated up late in the first quarter. The Huskies took their first lead late in the opening 10 minutes with an offensive rebound leading to a second-chance score.
No lead stayed secure for the rest of the game until the fourth quarter. Washington went up in the final minute of the game, and it put the game away with back-to-back buckets from graduate student forward Brenna McDonald.
Raining 3s
Washington came into this game as one of the more efficient three-point shooters in the Big Ten. Illinois is one of the better three-point defenses, holding opponents to 25.4% from three. However, the Huskies outmatched the Illini.
Throughout the game, the Illini couldn’t stop the three-point barrage. The Huskies made them at will; the home team could do nothing about it. Washington shot 11-20 from beyond the arc, which is by far the most threes Illinois has allowed to an opponent.
Sophomore guard Sayvia Sellers was on fire, shooting 5-7 from three-point range. Whether she was open or not, Sellers was knocking them down. The sophomore was a huge part of the Huskies’ win.
Struggling for help
On the other side, Illinois struggled from afar. It shot 5-19 from beyond the arc, with four of those five coming from Bryant. Outside of Bryant, the Illini shot 1-9 from three as they continued their long-range struggle.
They’ve been inconsistent, shooting well in some games and poorly in others. It was evident in the game against Washington that Illinois needs to improve from beyond the arc. If it can’t, every Big Ten game will be even tougher than usual.
In such a close game, the starters need all the rest they can get. However, if the bench can’t help out, the starters can’t get off the court as much, and that is what happened on Tuesday. Illinois earned just two bench points all game, while Washington’s bench countered with 23.
Without fifth-year guard Makira Cook and sophomore guard Gretchen Dolan, the Illini continue to be thin on the bench. Without a substantial effort from the bench, Illinois might find it difficult to stay alive in close games like this one.
Next up
With the loss, Illinois drops to 1-2 in the Big Ten. It has a long break before its next game, traveling to Minnesota on Jan. 5. It will be its first away game since playing at No. 12 Ohio State almost a month ago.
@ben_some16
