CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Abby Ellis scored 16 points and Jeanae Terry grabbed 14 rebounds and Purdue built a 10-point first-half cushion and maintained it the rest of the way in posting a 62-52 upset of No. 22 Illinois in a Big Ten Conference women’s battle on Thursday.
The Boilermakers notched their first win over a ranked opponent on the road and now are 4-2 against the Illini when they are ranked and 65-18 against Illinois overall.
Illinois head coach Shauna Green said her team has become “the hunted” since entering the AP rankings earlier this month.
“People come in here, and they really want to beat us,” Green said. “If we don’t show up energized and ready to play, anyone in this league can beat you. We have to understand that.”
Ellis hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the first quarter to help the Boilermakers build a 16-11 advantage after a quarter and they doubled it in the second, taking a 35-25 lead at intermission.
Ellis hit 6 of 9 from the field, including 2 of 4 from the distance, and grabbed six rebounds to help lead Purdue (14-6, 5-5 Big Ten). Terry hit 5 of 11 from the field and had four assists and four steals to go with her season-high 14 rebounds and 10 points. Caitlyn Harper added 10 points.
Makira Cook was 8 of 24 from the field, including 1 of 8 from distance, to lead Illinois (16-5, 6-4) with 19 points. Genesis Bryant finished with 11 points, Brynn Shoup-Hill had 10 points and Kendall Bostic grabbed 10 rebounds to go with her five points.
After the game, Bostic said her team has to regain the mindset it had early in the season before being ranked.
“Coming in and being the underdog is very different than coming in and being the hunted,” Bostic said. “I think we’ve just got to be able to shift gears a little bit and stay in that mindset.”
Purdue continues its stretch of three-straight games against ranked opponents when it takes on No. 2 Ohio State Sunday before playing host to No. 6 Indiana February 5.
Illinois plays host to Michigan State on Sunday.
Illinois Newsroom’s Brian Moline contributed reporting to this story.
