Illinois stomps Northwestern for first conference win

EVANSTON, Ill. — Illinois got its first Big Ten win in dominant fashion.

The Illini visited Welsh-Ryan Arena Sunday afternoon having dropped six of the last seven, a stark contrast to Shauna Green’s first season as head coach.

The Illini stood at 0-4 in Big Ten play and were on a three-game losing streak. That changed as the Illini took care of business, delivering a 93-52 beatdown in Evanston over Northwestern.

While Northwestern was coming off a conference win against Wisconsin, it looked like it came into this in-state rivalry game unprepared.

Halfway through the second quarter Illinois’ Adalia McKenzie kicked out to Makira Cook open for three to take a 33-13 lead. Everything after that was domination by the Illini.

Illinois (7-8) started the game missing a couple shots early. It looked like it was going to be another sluggish game by the Illini.

However, the Illini played aggressive on defense from the get go forcing four steals in the first quarter alone. A big…