Illinois Basketball: 3 observations from the Illini win over Nebraska

The women’s Illinois basketball team continued to win on the road in the Big Ten on Thursday night.

Coming into the game, there had been a lot of ups and downs for the Illini over the past month. After starting 14-2 overall and 4-1 in the Big Ten, Illinois came back down to Earth a little bit and started winning every other game.

On Thursday night against Nebraska, they were able to come back from a 10-point deficient to beat the Cornhuskers, 72-64. This great comeback included a 20-0 run from the 3rd quarter and for most of the 4th quarter.

Here are three observations from the Illinois basketball win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

1. Chef Makira was cookin’

It is only fitting to put a nickname on Makira Cook like Chef Makira. Not only is her last name Cook, but she was dicing up the competition on Thursday night.

Illinois had a rough second quarter, but Cook kept the Orange and Blue alive with her 12 points at the half. The Illini had started their comeback against the Cornhuskers late in the 3rd quarter, and then Cook took over the game from there.

In the 4th quarter alone, Cook would tally 10 points, two assists, one rebound, and one steal while going 4-of-8 from the field. She was just three points shy of beating Nebraska’s entire team in points in the 4th quarter.

Cook would finish the night with 22 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block on 9-of-22 shooting from the field. Illinois had to have Cook come through, and she performed when the lights were the brightest.

2. Illinois’ defense was amazing down the stretch

This game was not easy by any means. Illinois was struggling for most of the contest. Nebraska was able to hit a bucket with 1:43 left in the 3rd quarter to go up 51-41. That is when everything changed.

From that point on, Illinois started to dominate the game. The Cornhuskers didn’t make a bucket for the rest of the 3rd quarter. The Illini would end the quarter on an 8-0 run.

Illinois’ run would continue into the 4th quarter. By the time Nebraska could score again, the Illini had secured a 61-51 lead. That is a 20-0 run for those counting at home.

A huge reason for the big run by the Illini was due to our defense. Illinois wasn’t allowing the Cornhuskers to score points. The refs were the ones who actually allowed Nebraska to start scoring again.

Nebraska scored that bucket at the 1:43 mark in the 3rd quarter, and the next time they would make a field goal was with 1:36 left in the game. That is an insane drought.

In the final 11:43 of the game – 1:43 left in the 3rd quarter and all of the 4th quarter – Illinois held Nebraska to 1-of-11 shooting from the field and the Cornhuskers had six turnovers.

The Illini defense was dominant in the second half. This helped put us over the top and secured a big win for the program.

3. Jayla Oden stepped up in a big way

In the first quarter against Nebraska, Illinois sustained a big blow to the team. Superstar guard, Genesis Bryant went down with an ankle injury. She logged 10 minutes in the game and had three points on 1-of-2 shooting from three-point range.

This was a big injury for the team because Bryant has been one of the main players who has led us to such a great record. In her absence, Illinois needed someone to step up. We needed someone from the bench to make up for Bryant’s lost production.

In steps Jayla Oden.

Oden hadn’t seen double-digit minutes since the Ohio State game back on January 8. She logged just two minutes in the victory over Minnesota on February 5. On Thursday night, Oden was called upon to help the Illini, and she performed beautifully.

By the end of the game, Oden would log 28 minutes, which is a season-high. In the past eight games alone, Oden had a total of nine points. Against Nebraska, she would finish with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 1-of-3 from three-point range. Oden would also pull down six rebounds for the Orange and Blue.

Makira Cook was special and led Illinois against the Cornhuskers, but if we didn’t have Oden step in and put up big numbers, I don’t think we get this road dub. This was a huge game from one of our deep bench players.