Bryant’s big shot secures No. 21 Illinois’ 16th win

EVANSTON, Ill. — “Winner of the paint will win the game.” - Coach Shauna Green

In front of a pro-Illini crowd on the road in Evanston, Illinois was able to pull out a tightly contested 67-64 win over Northwestern on Sunday afternoon.

A rough shooting performance by the fifth-best three-point shooting team in the nation was balanced out with tough and resilient defense that kept Northwestern at bay.

This is Illinois’ second win against Northwestern this season after having 14 consecutive losses against the Wildcats.

The beginning of the game was all about setting the tone inside. 22 of the first 34 points scored came by way of the paint as Northwestern’s Paige Mott and Illinois’ Kendall Bostic…