By IlliniGuys Staff

January 11, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

LINCOLN, Neb. - Brynn Shoup-Hill scored 14 points and grabbed a team-best six rebounds, but cold shooting in the second half left Illinois on the short end of a 56-48 loss at Nebraska Thursday night.

Illinois (6-8, 0-4) saw its top four scorers all miss double-digit scoring in the same game for the first time this season and their teammates weren't able to pick up the slack.

Illinois fell behind 18-4 early before the Illini got a pair of three-pointers from Genesis Bryant and another from Jada Peebles to get back into the game at 18-13.

Illinois closed within 30-29 at halftime, but went cold again coming out of halftime.  The Illini hit just three field goals in the third quarter and only three more in the fourth quarter to come up short.

Bryant leads the team in scoring this season at 14.8 points per game, but finished with just nine points on 3-of-15 shooting. Makira Cook (14.2 ppg) scored eight, Kendall Bostic (12.6) added eight, and Adalia McKenzie (10.5) finished with one point.

Jaz Shelley scored a game-high 17 points for Nebraska (12-4, 4-1).

Illinois stays on the road to take on Northwestern on Sunday (2pm, BTN+).