Illinois takes out No. 1 seed Villanova to win inaugural WBIT
Genesis Bryant added 17 points for the Fighting Illini (19-15), who won the first postseason tourney title in program history. They celebrated in front of a large, loud orange-clad of fans who made the two-hour drive from the school’s campus and gave Illinois a distinct home-court advantage inside the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Cook also had five assists and five 3-pointers and was selected the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. She had 20 points and five assists in Tuesday’s semifinal victory over Washington State and averaged 21.0 points during the five-game title run.
Lucy Olsen finished with 22 points, six rebounds and five assists to lead the Wildcats (22-13). Bella Runyan had 11 points as Villanova made its deepest tourney run since reaching the 1982 AIAW Final Four.
Illinois started fast but frittered away the lead when Cook left with her second foul early in the second quarter. The Wildcats took advantage by building a 32-29 halftime lead.
Everything changed when Cook returned for the second half.
After Olsen opened the third quarter with a putback, Cook’s back-to-back 3s gave Illinois the lead and started a 16-2 run Cook capped with yet another 3. When it ended, the Illini led 45-34.
The Wildcats cut the deficit to 50-44 at the end of three but couldn’t get any closer as the Illini pulled away over the final 10 minutes.