No. 21 Illinois women beat Canisius 68-55 in Shauna Green's returns to Buffalo

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Kendall Bostic scored 16 points, Adalia McKenzie had 15 points and 10 rebounds and No. 21 Illinois beat Canisius 68-55 on Monday night in coach Shauna Green's return to Buffalo.

It marked the first time a ranked team had traveled to the Koessler Athletic Center to play the Golden Griffins, who dropped to 0-12 against ranked teams.

Brynn Shoup-Hill and Bostic combined to scored 15 of Illinois’ 19 points in the first quarter, while Canisius scored 11. Illinois led 39-28 at halftime and scored the opening four points of the third quarter for a 15-point lead.

But Canisius battled back later in the third to get within 47-42 with 1:41 left. Genesis Bryant answered at the other end with a 3-pointer for an eight-point lead.

Jasmine Brown-Hagger made a steal and fast-break layup to give the Illini a 60-50 lead with 7:01 left in the fourth.

Brown-Hagger finished with 13 points for Illinois (7-1). The Illini have held opponents to 15 points or fewer in 25 of 32 regulation periods this season.

Jaela Johnson scored 10 points for Canisius (1-6).

CANISIUS CONNECTIONS

Green scored 2,012 career points for the Golden Griffins from 1998-02 — the most of any men’s or women’s player. She also ranks second in program history with 910 rebounds.

Illinois sophomore Gretchen Dolan was also slated to return to her hometown of Buffalo, but did not play after averaging 10.1 points in seven games this season. Dolan’s mother, Kristen, and sister, Hannah, both played basketball for the Golden Griffins.

UP NEXT

Illinois plays at No. 12 Ohio State on Sunday to begin Big Ten play. Canisius plays at Akron on Saturday.