Women's basketball defeats ISU

In a game of runs, the women’s basketball team made its biggest move as the final minutes wound down.

The Illini edged out in-state rival Illinois State, 62-51, on Tuesday, marking their eighth straight victory in the series.

The Illini battled to maintain an initial lead for most of the first half and held the Redbirds without scoring for a four-minute stretch in the middle of the period.

During that same time Illinois scored seven points but failed to pull away further before Illinois State made its run.

The Redbirds wiped out the seven-point deficit and led 21-20 with just under four minutes to go before halftime. Illinois State would carry a seven-point lead into the break, but that would ultimately be their biggest lead of the game.

Illinois made its own run in the second half, and a layup by Fabiola Josil with 10:21 left in the game put the Orange and Blue up 44-42. Illinois never trailed from that point on.

Senior Jenna Smith was the leading scorer for the Illini with 19 points, a total puts her fourth on Illinois’ career scoring list. It also marks her 44th consecutive game in which she scored in double figures.