PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Jada Peebles scored 20 points, Genesis Bryant added 15 points and No. 25 Illinois defeated Rutgers 75-53 in a Big Ten regular-season finale on Sunday.
Peebles made 7 of 9 shots with 4 of 6 3-pointers. Bryant added five assists and four rebounds. Adalia McKenzie added 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Fighting Illini (21-8, 11-7 Big Ten) and Kendall Bostic scored 12 points.
Peebles scored 13 points and McKenzie added 10 in a first half that was dominated by the Illini. Illinois shot 48% in the first half compared to 28% for Rutgers. Illinois led 37-21 at halftime.
Only three players scored for the Illini in the third quarter, but it was enough to extend their lead to 57-36 entering the fourth. Bryant scored nine points, Bostic added eight and Peebles hit a 3-pointer.
Bryant added six points in the fourth quarter and the Illinois lead peaked at 27 points with 6:06 remaining.
Kaylene Smikle had 18 points, Chyna Cornwell 11 and Kassondra Brown 10 for the Scarlet Knights (11-19, 5-13).
Illinois bounced back after a 90-57 home loss to Nebraska last time out.
The conference tournament starts Wednesday at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Rutgers is seeded 11th and will play No. 14 Northwestern on Wednesday. The winner will play sixth-seeded Illinois on Thursday.
ILLINOIS (21-8)
Bostic 6-9 0-0 12, Bryant 6-12 2-2 15, Cook 4-9 0-0 8, McKenzie 5-10 4-10 14, Peebles 7-9 2-2 20, Dewey 1-3 0-0 2, Lopes 0-0 0-0 0, Rhodes 1-2 0-0 2, Ndour 1-1 0-0 2, Totals 31-55 8-14 75
RUTGERS (11-19)
Cornwell 4-7 3-5 11, Lafayette 1-4 0-0 2, Brown 3-6 4-5 10, Sidibe 4-6 0-0 8, Smikle 5-17 7-10 18, Bates 1-2 2-3 4, Carter 0-5 0-0 0, Streeter 0-3 0-0 0, Totals 18-50 16-23 53
| Illinois | 21 | 16 | 20 | 18 | — | 75 |
| Rutgers | 8 | 13 | 15 | 17 | — | 53 |
3-Point Goals: Illinois 5-14 (Bryant 1-5, Cook 0-2, Peebles 4-6, Dewey 0-1), Rutgers 1-15 (Lafayette 0-2, Brown 0-2, Smikle 1-5, Bates 0-1, Carter 0-2, Streeter 0-3). Assists: Illinois 16 (Bryant 5, McKenzie 5), Rutgers 6 (Sidibe 3). Fouled Out: None. Rebounds: Illinois 33 (McKenzie 8), Rutgers 32 (Cornwell 6, Sidibe 6, Smikle 6). Total Fouls: Illinois 16, Rutgers 13. Technical Fouls: None. A: 2,049.
