Illini Women Best Bradley 74-62

The Illini women's basketball team remained unbeaten at home with a 74-62 win over in-state rival Bradley. Sophomore Brandi Beasley led Illinois with 16 points and 7 assists.

Illinois used a strong fourth quarter to pull away from the Braves, who trailed by just a point at 54-53 heading into the final period.  After Bradley grabbed a 62-61 lead, Illinois closed the game on a 13-0 run to get the win.

Illini head coach Nancy Fahey was much happier with her team's performance on Saturday than she was after a lackluster win over Chicago State on Wednesday.

"We've been working so much on trying to grit through things, and I felt like that was my frustration against Chicago State," Fahey said, "We won, but I didn't feel the same energy. This is the first time I feel like they understood what it means to grit through things and play hard, and I thought they did that."

Sophomore Petra Holešínská notched her first double-double of the season for Illinois with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

In a see-saw game, Illinois raced out to a 22-8 lead before Bradley ended the quarter on a 14-0 run to tie it. The Illini took a 40-34 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Illini shot 42 percent from the field, and held the Braves to just 35 percent shooting. Illinois outrebounded Bradley 43-37, and scored 23 points off of 16 Brave turnovers.

Illinois improves to 3-1 on the season, while Bradley falls to 2-1.

Another in-state school comes up next on the Illini schedule when Western Illinois visits Champaign on Tuesday.