Karisma Penn’s trip to her home state was bad news for Ohio State fans.

The Shaker Heights native scored a career-high 34 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as she led Illinois to a 79-73 victory over Ohio State, ending a 31-game home winning streak for the Buckeyes. The streak was the second-longest in the nation.

In her previous two trips to Columbus, Penn averaged 22 points and seven rebounds, but she trumped those performances on the way to Illinois’ first win in Columbus since 2001. Penn set a school-record for free throws made in a game with 16.

In the first half, the Illini jumped out to a quick eight-point lead, 20-12, with 11:27 remaining behind eight points from Penn. But a 16-0 Ohio State run put the Illini behind 28-20 with four minutes remaining in the half. The Illini were able to cut the Buckeye’s lead to two shortly before the half until an Ashley Adams layup extended the Buckeyes’ lead to 35-31 at the half.

“We went into halftime feeling like we had played a bad probably 14 minutes of the first half, so only being down four, we knew that we could play better and that’s exactly what we did,” Penn said.

After the break, Illinois quickly tied the game at 35 before a back-and-forth battle ensued, with Ohio State gaining a lead as large as six points, while Illinois grabbing a two-point lead at multiple points. The Illini finally took the lead for good with 3:46 remaining. Penn secured the Illini victory by scoring eight points and grabbing four rebounds in the last 3:46.

“I thought Karisma was unbelievable down the stretch,” Illinois head coach Matt Bollant said. “And some other people stepped up.”

One of the players who stepped up was Adrienne GodBold. The senior scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds. She has averaged 15 points and 6.3 rebounds in her three games this season, while also boosting the team defensively. GodBold has also fouled out in each contest. The senior did so with 3:21 remaining in the second half. But after being on the bench for the team’s first 11 games, GodBold has learned how to help the team without being on the court.

“Once NuNu (GodBold) got fouled out, she gave us a great pep talk just telling us to stay in it and don’t let anyone take it away from us, and we did that,” Penn said.

Illinois appears to be a different team with GodBold back in the lineup. Since GodBold’s return against then-No.6 Georgia, the Illini are 2-1 against three opponents ranked or receiving votes in the top 25. The Illini defeated Georgia 70-59 before falling to No. 14 Purdue 67-66 in overtime on Wednesday.

Illinois and Ohio State were even statistically in most aspects of the game. Illinois shot 45 percent while Ohio State shot 46 percent. The Illini grabbed 33 rebounds to the Buckeyes’ 32, and they committed 19 turnovers to Ohio State’s 20. But free throw shooting was the main difference between the two teams. Illinois shot 88 percent (30-for-34), while Ohio State shot 64 percent (16-for-25).

Amber Moore helped clinch the victory with five free throws in the last two minutes. The junior finished with 10 points and five rebounds.

Moore and Penn’s efforts from the free-throw line were crucial to Illinois’ victory. The Illini, who average 70 percent from the free-throw line, shot 88 percent.

Penn, a 65-percent free throw shooter, went 16-for-17.

“She’s been in the gym doing extra and working at it,” Bollant said. “You could see the confidence in her eye when she went to the line.”

Illinois struggled to contain two of Ohio State’s best players. Tayler Hill scored 30 for the Buckeyes, while Darryce Moore added 17 points before fouling out.

Moore’s actions, however, helped clinch the game for the Illini. When Moore was called for her fifth foul, she slammed the ball on the ground and was called for a technical. The two fouls gave Illinois four free throws, which it used to build its lead from one point to four with 2:00 remaining.

Illinois will return to action Thursday when it heads to Northwestern. The Wildcats hve struggled so far this season and currently have a record of 8-7 (0-2).

Johnathan can be reached at [email protected] and @jhett93.