By IlliniGuys Staff

December 31, 2023

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - All-Big Ten performer Makira Cook scored 17 of her season-high 24 points in the second half, but it wasn't enough as Illinois fell at 16th ranked Indiana 77-71 as they resumed Big Ten play.

The Illini (6-6, 0-2) came into the early tipoff looking for their first signature win of the season and their first conference win of this campaign as well.

Illinois was down 48-37 with 4:34 left in the 3rd quarter when they began to chip away at Indiana's lead.  Cook scored 8 points in a 17-6 run to tie the game at 54 with 8:06 remaining in the game.  But the Illini could never take the lead the rest of the way.

Cook scored in double-digits for the 7th time in nine games this season.  She missed the first three games after suffering an undisclosed upper body injury in the team's exhibition game.

Kendall Bostic added 18 points and 11 rebounds for her 22nd career double-double.  Genesis Bryant added 12, but was limited to just 1-of-2 from three-point range.   As a team, Illinois connected on just 2-of-10 attempts from outside the arc.

Indiana (11-1, 2-0) was led by Mackenzie Holmes' 30 points as they run their win streak to a Big Ten-best 10 games.  The Hoosiers have now beaten Illinois in 16 straight meetings, dating back to the 2012-13 season.

The Illini return to action next Sunday when they host Wisconsin (2pm CST, BIG+).