By IlliniGuys Staff

December 29, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

MADISON, Wisc. - Adalia McKenzie scored a career-high 26 points as the red-hot Illinois women's basketball picked up where they left off before Christmas break with a convincing 79-63 win at Wisconsin Thursday night.

The victory is the fifth in a row for Illinois (12-2, 2-1) and gives first-year head coach Shauna Green her first Big Ten road win as coach of the Illini.

The game marked the first action for leading scorer Makira Cook, who hadn't played since the win at Butler on December 11th due to illness. But Cook put her stamp on the game early with an assist on a Genesis Bryant three-pointer and then hitting a jumper for an early 11-4 Illini lead.

The Badgers put together their best effort with a 9-0 run to close within 30-29 in the second quarter, but Illinois answered with a 6-0 run of its own.

McKenzie continues to flourish in coach Green's offense, logging a season-high 36 minutes while recording her fifth game of 20 points or more, all since Thanksgiving.  The sophomore hit 14-of-15 free throws in the game, including 5-of-6 as part of a 10-point fourth quarter to help keep Wisconsin (4-10, 0-3) at bay.

Cook finished with 23 points, her second highest total of the season.  Bryant added 14 points for her third straight double-digit scoring effort.  Kendall Bostic grabbed nine rebounds, including the 500th of her career.

Illinois is now over .500 in conference play for the first time since 2017 and will now put their perfect 7-0 home record on the line as they host 12th ranked Iowa on New Year's Day at State Farm Center (2pm,BTN).