Bryant scores 24, Illinois holds off No. 12 Iowa women 90-86

Updated Jan. 1, 2023 5:44 p.m. ET

Associated Press

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Genesis Bryant scored 24 points, Makira Cook added 20, and resurgent Illinois defeated No. 12 Iowa 90-86 on Sunday.

After trailing 18-13 through one quarter, Illinois outscored Iowa 31-15 in the second quarter and held on to win in a dramatic fourth quarter that saw the Hawkeyes get within one point.

The win over a ranked team gives the Illini (13-2, 3-1 Big Ten), who won only seven games a season ago, a shot at cracking the Top 25.

Adalia McKenzie and Bryant scored all of Illinois’ points for the first 4 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter while Monika Czinano and Caitlin Clark did the same for Iowa. Clark’s 3-pointer had the Hawkeyes within 75-74 before Kendall Bostic broke the string with two free throws for Illinois.

At 1:18, McKenna Warnock hit two free throws to get Iowa within 87-84. The teams traded a series of missed jumpers until an Iowa turnover gave Illinois the ball with 18 seconds left, leading by three. At that point, Illinois was able to put the game away, making 3-of-4 free throws for the win.

Bostic had 17 points and McKenzie added 16 for the Illini. Bostic made all seven of her field goal attempts and Bryant was 8-for-10, going 3-for-3 from 3-point distance.

Clark, third in the nation in scoring at 26.8 ppg coming in, scored 32 points for Iowa (11-4, 3-1). She made 7 of 14 3-pointers and added seven assists. Czinano finished with 24 points and six rebounds. Warnock added 17 points.

Both teams relied heavily on their top players as Iowa had only four bench points and Illinois 10.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25