Bryant scores 17 and leads No. 8 Illinois to 1st March Madness win in 25 years over No. 9 Creighton

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Genesis Bryant scored 17 points and No. 8 Illinois earned its first NCAA Tournament victory in 25 years Saturday night with a 66-57 win over No. 9 Creighton.

Illinois’ tough defense frustrated Creighton’s outside shooters as the Illini also dominated on the boards. Kendall Bostic added 12 points and 17 rebounds for Illinois (22-9), which advances to the second round on Monday against No. 1 Texas (32-3), which beat No. 16 William & Mary 105-61 Saturday night.

“I like to say this is a dream come true, just being here first, but then getting a win,” said Illinois guard Adalia McKenzie, who scored 14 points.

“We want to keep playing. We’re not done yet,” McKenzie said. “We’re super hungry and we’re really ready for it.”

Morgan Maly led Creighton (26-6) with 18 points and Lauren Jensen scored 17. But the Bluejays’ top scorers all season — both scored more than 2,000 points in their careers — were mostly contained on a tough shooting night. Creighton shot just 36% against a stifling Illinois defense and was just 6 of 22 on 3-pointers.

“I thought we played a little tight,” Creighton coach Jim Flanery said. “It seemed like every time we got back to within three or four or five, they made a big play or two and put it back to eight.”

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Illinois led 51-41 early in the fourth quarter before Creighton pulled within 58-54 on Jensen’s tough layup through the lane with 2:08 to play.

The rally ended when Bryant missed two free throws for the Illini on the next possession but Berry Wallace grabbed the rebound over two Creighton defenders for an easy putback basket.

“It was amazing just for her to be a freshman, to have the poise to get in there and then finish,” Bryant said. “She’s been making plays like that all year.”

Third-year Illinois coach Shauna Green wanted her team to soak in the feeling of a tournament victory. The program won the WBIT championship last season, and the goal this wasn’t just to make the NCAA Tournament but to win there.

“(The win) was really, really important. We came here to get to the NCAA Tournament, to compete for championships,” Green said. “They were resilient all year. I wanted it so badly for this group, and they wanted it badly, too.”

Takeaways

Illinois: Bostic and Berry muscled their way over Creighton defenders time and again as Illinois won the rebounding 42-32 and second-chance scoring 32-22. Illinois came into the NCAA Tournament on a four-game losing skid and hadn’t won a game since Feb. 16.

Creighton: The Bluejays brought an experienced team with four senior starters who were playing in their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays had not advanced past the second round since 2022 and were clearly expecting a deeper run than a first-round exit.

Key moment

Creighton rallied from an early 12-point deficit to quickly get within two early in the third quarter. But Illinois answered with consecutive 3-pointers from Brynn Shoup-Hill, a 26% 3-point shooter on the season.

Down and out

Creighton is done in both the men’s and women’s tournaments. The men’s team lost to No. 1 Auburn in the second round on Saturday.

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