Illinois women rout Rutgers in Big Ten Tournament

CBS Sports HQ

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Makira Cook scored 24 points, Genesis Bryant added 21 and Illinois thumped Rutgers 81-55 in the second round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament on Thursday night.

Bryant made 8 of 11 shots with three 3-pointers for the sixth-seeded Fighting Illini (22-8). She also had five rebounds and five assists. Cook sank 10 of 13 shots, including 4 of 6 from beyond the arc, adding five assists. Adalia McKenzie scored 12 points.

Freshman Kaylene Smikle scored 22 points to lead the No. 11 seed Scarlet Knights (12-20). Chyna Cornwell scored 14. Both players had five rebounds

Bryant and McKenzie scored eight points apiece to guide Illinois to an 18-12 lead after one quarter. Cook made 6 of 7 shots with two 3-pointers, scoring 14 points in the second quarter, and the Illini took a comfortable 41-27 advantage into halftime.

Bryant scored 11 on 4-of-5 shooting with a 3-pointer, Cook made all four of her shots with two 3-pointers and Illinois headed to the final quarter with a 68-42 lead.

Samantha Dewey followed a 3-pointer with a rebound basket to give Illinois its largest lead, 77-46, with 3:32 left to play.

Illinois shot a blistering 60% from the floor (34 of 57) and made half of its 18 shots from distance.

Rutgers, who beat 14th-seeded Northwestern in the first round, shot 32% overall, 23% from distance (3 of 13). The Scarlet Knights had an 18-4 advantage at the free-throw line.

UP NEXT

Illinois: The Fighting Illini play No. 3 seed Maryland in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.