Rutgers came out of the gates not looking like a 1-9 Big Ten team against the Illinois basketball program.
It was a bit scary in the first eight minutes of the game, as Rutgers took it to the Illini. The Scarlet Knights started hot and wasn’t cooling down.
Rutgers was getting a lot of their production from Kiyomi McMiller. She was putting the Illinois defenders on skates, and McMiller was hitting three-pointers like she was Caitlin Clark.
After being down 20-9, Illinois finally settled in and started to turn the tides. This was an up-and-down first half, but the Illini still managed to maintain the lead heading into halftime.
Here are first half observations for the Illinois basketball team against Rutgers
1. Full court press was giving Illinois issues
Rutgers really started the game hot due to their full-court defense. The Scarlet Knights were pressuring Illinois from the get-go, and this threw us in a spiral.
Multiple bad passes trying to break the full-court press gave Rutgers extra opportunities to put points on the board. In the first eight minutes of action, the Illini had multiple turnovers due to Rutgers’ full-court press.
Late in the first quarter, Shauna Green’s teachings started to sink in, and Illinois started to get through the press. But this was clearly a great strategy by Rutgers to open the game.
2. Illini defense started to crack down in the second quarter
After going down by 11 points, Illinois managed to battle back. There were a few reasons Illinois managed to get the lead back, but I would argue the biggest game-changer was the Illini defense.
Illinois gave up 20 points in the first quarter, and we didn’t look up to speed. Rutgers had more energy and effort, but that changed when Illinois’ defense started to wake up.
Shutting down Rutgers on the perimeter helped create rebounds and open-court situations. This enabled Illinois to get easy buckets at the other end in transition. The Illini defense showed their teeth in the second quarter.
3. Illinois got back to dominating in the paint
The Illini have a great presence in the paint, but we weren't taking advantage of that early on. Rutgers was controlling this game.
Illinois made some adjustments and started to get aggressive. We stopped settling for shots, and multiple Illinois players took over.
Kendall Bostic made some big shots and was a force in the paint. Berry Wallace was able to take her opponent baseline for a bucket and a free throw. Adalia McKenzie started to drive to the basket more as well. Illinois getting aggressive in the paint helped secure a 34-32 halftime lead.