No. 25 Illinois (21-7, 11-6) had another impressive showing in Los Angeles but lost 76-66 to No. 4 USC (25-2, 15-1). Illinois fought hard but couldn’t get past the taller USC lineup. Fifth-year forward Kendall Bostic played well despite the height difference. She scored 14 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, her 18th double-double of the season.
It was a tale of two halves for the Illini. The first half looked good for them. They fought back from multiple big deficits to get the lead down to four. Both their defense and offense were clicking. Illinois made shots and stopped USC as best as it could on defense.
The second half looked much different. Early in the third quarter, freshman forward Berry Wallace shook her defender and sunk a layup to tie the game at 40. After that, Illinois went cold, scoring just seven points the rest of the quarter. USC, on the other hand, scored 17 and took a 10-point lead into the final frame.
No lack of effort
Despite going against one of the best teams in the country, Illinois wasn’t backing down. It led 13-10 early in the first quarter. It went back and forth, but the Illini were never far from the lead for long.
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Fifth-year guard Genesis Bryant showed up big in the first half. Late in the first quarter, Bryant stood strong in front of driving sophomore guard JuJu Watkins, taking the contact to draw a charge. This gave the ball back to Illinois. Bryant was right back in the spotlight, hitting a three-pointer to end the first quarter and cut the lead to four.
The second quarter looked very similar. Illinois got down by 11 before going on an 8-1 run to end the first half. Then, Bryant found Wallace under the hoop. Wallace backed down her defender and sunk the layup. The team entered the half down just four points.
Throughout the game, Illinois continued to fight back. It showed what it was made of, playing hard basketball on both ends. It wasn’t uncommon to see a player in a blue jersey fighting for the ball or on the ground after trying to draw a foul.
Very late in the final quarter, that effort showed again. Despite being down 18 with under five minutes to play, Illinois didn’t bow out. The Illini hit three three-pointers in their effort to make a comeback. They got the Trojan lead down to eight, but it was too little, too late as the clock wound down to zero.
Big time defense
Illinois’ defense didn’t make anything easy for USC. Every player stuck to their assignment closely. Sophomore guard Cori Allen and senior guard Adalia McKenzie were called on the most to guard Watkins. They did better than expected, holding the superstar to 12 points in the first half. Watkins very rarely got an open look outside of transition.
The rest of the team was just as good. Not one of the Trojans found an easy basket. Late in the second quarter and into the third, Illinois held USC without a field goal on 14 straight attempts.
With a much taller USC lineup, Bostic had a harder time guarding her assignments. She got a lot of help from senior forward Brynn Shoup-Hill, who had a solid game defensively. She would help out when needed but held her own with her assignments as well.
Player notes
Bostic led the team in rebounding, and with much taller players in the paint, she pivoted away from scoring under the basket. Most of her points came from jumpers outside the paint, something she has done fairly well this season.
In another impressive game, Bryant led the team in scoring with 22 points. She took some rushed shots late in the game but her overall impact was great. She hit five three-pointers and was one of three Illinois players to play all 40 minutes.
Another player who played the entire game was Wallace. She scored 14 points despite only making one shot from beyond the arc. Usually a strength of hers, she struggled to hit from three-point range. Instead, she drove to the rim and used her athleticism to score. She has improved her short game recently, finding more scoring opportunities than just the three-ball.
After picking up two fouls early in the game, McKenzie went to the bench for almost ten minutes. It was the first time she sat in three games. Her effort was dampened by fewer minutes, however. She scored 11 points but her defense was the star of the show.
Primarily guarding Watkins, McKenzie did well to never let her find an open shot. In fact, it was hard to see any space at all between the two when McKenzie guarded Watkins. McKenzie’s effort against Watkins was a huge factor in the game being as close as it was.
Next up
Illinois gets a much-needed break. Its next game isn’t until March 2 against Michigan (19-8, 10-6). A full week will help out a thin Illini rotation that has been playing a lot of minutes.
@ben_some16
