(From Illinois Sports Information Office)
March 28, 2024
TULSA, Okla. – [4] Illinois booked its ticket to Indianapolis with a 69-61 road win over [3] Tulsa in the WBIT quarterfinals, securing its spot as one of the final four teams remaining in the competition.
Trailing for less than 90 seconds, all of which came in the first three minutes of play, the Fighting Illini had four scorers finish in double figures en route to the eight-point away victory.
Genesis Bryant led the way with a team-high 19 points, including 12 points in the first half. Shooting 5-for-7 from the field through the opening two quarters, Bryant finished with four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Kendall Bostic recorded her second consecutive double-double, tallying 10 points and a team-best 16 rebounds. Bostic also dished out a team-high four assists.
Makira Cook amassed 13 of her 17 points in the fourth quarter, as she accounted for the Illini's final 13 points of the night. She went 7-for-11 from the field, and she added three rebounds and one assist.
Camille Hobby notched eight points and eight rebounds, while she went a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
Scoring in double figures in each of the Illini's three WBIT games thus far, Adalia McKenzie totaled 10 points, three rebounds, and two steals.
The Golden Hurricane opened the scoring and took an early 2-0 lead, but the Illini did not trail for long. Hobby recorded the visitors' first points with a jumper before Bryant's layup put the Orange and Blue in front for the first time. Two free throws from Hobby came soon after, and a 3-pointer from Bostic added to the Illini's scoring streak. McKenzie's first points of the night capped off a 12-0 Illinois run that spanned nearly five minutes.
Bryant accounted for the Orange and Blue's next four points before Hobby knocked down two free throws, the Illini's final points of the frame. The away side led by as many as 12 through the opening 10 minutes, though the Illini took an 18-9 advantage after the first period of play.
Cook extended the Illinois edge to 13 by scoring the first four points of the second quarter, which forced Tulsa to call a timeout within the first minute of the frame. The Golden Hurricane snapped a scoreless drought of nearly three minutes before Hobby responded with a jumper. Bostic tallied the team's next five points, including her second trey of the day, though Bryant scored the Illini's final six points of the opening half.
Illinois took a 35-24 advantage into the break, led by a team-high 12 points from Bryant. Forcing nine Tulsa turnovers, the Illini registered 10 points off those takeaways, while the Orange and Blue amassed seven second-chance points on four offensive boards.
After Tulsa started the second half with a 4-0 run, Bostic moved into double figures for the Illini's first points of the frame just under 90 seconds in. The Golden Hurricane responded with a bucket of their own before Bryant connected from downtown to put the Orange and Blue back in front by double digits.
An 8-0 Illini run over the next three minutes pushed Illinois' advantage up to 15 points halfway through the frame before the Orange and Blue held a 54-41 edge with 10 minutes to go.
McKenzie moved the Illini's lead back up to 15 after McKenzie moved into double figures.
Cook then tallied the team's final 13 points of the contest, though the Golden Hurricane reduced their deficit down to six points with 1:34 to play. Cook made two free throws in the clutch, which sealed the Illini's berth in the next round.
[4] Illinois moves on to the WBIT semifinals at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Monday, when the Illini will take on either [1] Washington State or [2] Toledo.
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