Ellis sparks Purdue to 62-52 win at No. 22 Illinois

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 battle on Thursday.

No. 24 Illini women top Minnesota 70-57 in return to Top 25

Brynn Shoup-Hill and Adalia McKenzie both added 13 points for the Illini (15-3, 5-2 Big Ten Conference), who haven't had a winning season since 2012-13, haven't made the NCAA Tournament since 2003 and were last ranked on Nov. 27, 2000.

Dainja, Mayer power Illinois past Michigan State, 75-66

Dain Dainja was an inside force Michigan State had no answer for and Matthew Mayer hit clutch 3s in the second half as Illinois ended the Spartans seven-game win streak with a 75-66 win on Friday night.

Mississippi St rallies to win ReliaQuest Bowl against Illini

Massimo Biscardi made a 27-yard tiebreaking field goal with four seconds left, Marcus Banks returned a fumble 60 yards for a touchdown on the game’s last play and No. 24 Mississippi State rallied to beat Illinois 19-10 on Monday in the ReliaQuest Bowl in the Bulldogs’ first game since coach Mike Leach’s death.