INDIANAPOLIS — Makira Cook scored 16 of her 20 points in the first half and Genesis Bryant finished with 18 points as fourth-seeded Illinois beat top-seeded Washington State 81-58 in the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament semifinals Monday night.
Cook and Bryant combined to make 15 of 24 shots from the field and four 3-pointers. Adalia McKenzie added 14 points and Camille Hobby had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Fighting Illini.
Illinois (18-15) faces top-seeded Villanova (22-12) in Wednesday night’s championship game. Illinois won four postseason games in a single tournament for the first time in school history and is chasing the school’s first postseason tourney title.
Astera Tuhina led the Cougars with 20 points. Eleonora Villa added 14 points for Washington State (21-15), which produced a season-low point total. The previous low was 59.