AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Genesis Bryant scored 17 points and No. 8 Illinois earned its first NCAA Tournament victory in 25 years Saturday night with a 66-57 win over No. 9 Creighton.
Illinois' tough defense frustrated Creighton's outside shooters as the Illini also dominated on the boards. Kendall Bostic added 12 points and 17 rebounds for Illinois (22-9), which advances to the second round on Monday against No. 1 Texas (32-3), which beat No. 16 William & Mary 105-61 Saturday night.
“I like to say this is a dream come true, just being here first, but then getting a win,” said Illinois guard Adalia McKenzie, who scored 14 points.
“We want to keep playing. We’re not done yet,” McKenzie said. “We’re super hungry and we’re really ready for it.”
Morgan Maly led Creighton (26-6) with 18 points and Lauren Jensen scored 17. But the Bluejays' top scorers all season — both scored more than 2,000 points in their careers — were mostly contained on a tough shooting night. Creighton shot just 36% against a stifling Illinois defense and was just 6 of 22 on 3-pointers.
“I thought we played a little tight,” Creighton coach Jim Flanery said. “It seemed like every time we got back to within three or four or five, they made a big play or two and put it back to eight.”
Illinois led 51-41 early in the fourth quarter before Creighton pulled within 58-54 on Jensen's tough layup through the lane with 2:08 to play.
The rally ended when Bryant missed two free throws for the Illini on the next possession but Berry Wallace grabbed the rebound over two Creighton defenders for an easy putback basket.
“It was amazing just for her to be a freshman, to have the poise to get in there and then finish,” Bryant said. “She’s been making plays like that all year.”
Third-year Illinois coach Shauna Green wanted her team to soak in the feeling of a tournament victory. The program won the WBIT championship last season, and the goal this wasn't just to make the NCAA Tournament but to win there.
“(The win) was really, really important. We came here to get to the NCAA Tournament, to compete for championships,” Green said. “They were resilient all year. I wanted it so badly for this group, and they wanted it badly, too.”
Illinois: Bostic and Berry muscled their way over Creighton defenders time and again as Illinois won the rebounding 42-32 and second-chance scoring 32-22. Illinois came into the NCAA Tournament on a four-game losing skid and hadn't won a game since Feb. 16.
Creighton: The Bluejays brought an experienced team with four senior starters who were playing in their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays had not advanced past the second round since 2022 and were clearly expecting a deeper run than a first-round exit.
Creighton rallied from an early 12-point deficit to quickly get within two early in the third quarter. But Illinois answered with consecutive 3-pointers from Brynn Shoup-Hill, a 26% 3-point shooter on the season.
Creighton is done in both the men's and women's tournaments. The men's team lost to No. 1 Auburn in the second round on Saturday.
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Illinois forward Brynn Shoup-Hill (23) celebrates her score against Creighton during the second half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament in Austin, Texas, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Dry conditions, wind and trees downed by Hurricane Helene fueled wildfires in North Carolina and South Carolina, where evacuation orders were in effect Tuesday.
About 80 miles (129 kilometers) west of Charlotte, North Carolina, officials ordered mandatory evacuations for roughly 165 properties in rural Polk County. Three fires there have burned at least 9 square miles (23 square kilometers). The North Carolina Forest Service says two of the fires are uncontained as of Monday night.
The Black Cove Fire is one of the larger blazes. Officials said a downed power line sparked that fire, but the causes of the other two fires are under investigation.
Neighboring Henderson County issued voluntary evacuation orders and opened an emergency shelter. Volunteer fire departments were on standby, Henderson County spokesperson Mike Morgan told WLOS-TV.
“Especially near some of the homes where if the fire did jump, we can be there to help protect those homes,” Morgan said. “We’re here to monitor the situation very closely.”
Two fires were burning in the mountains of South Carolina. The fires in Table Rock State Park and nearby Persimmon Ridge have burned a combined 2.3 square miles (5.9 square kilometers), the South Carolina Forestry Commission said. Officials said both fires were ignited by human activity and neither were contained as of Monday night.
No injuries were reported, and no structures were imminently threatened as of Monday night, but voluntary evacuations were issued for about 100 homes over the weekend. On Tuesday morning, the forestry commission updated an earlier announcement to say no evacuations were planned near the Persimmon Ridge Fire, but residents were urged to be prepared to leave their homes if an evacuation is suggested in the future.
“The weather over the next few days remains concerning, as relative humidities are expected to remain very low, and the forecasted wind speeds will still be conducive to spreading the fire,” the forestry commission said.
Dry weather and millions of trees knocked down by Hurricane Helene last year are creating a long and active fire season in the Carolinas, according to North Carolina State University forestry and environmental resources professor Robert Scheller. Scheller predicted this busy fire season if the region saw dry weather after the hurricane.
“Helene just dropped tons of fuel on the ground,” Scheller said. “Then these flash droughts allow that fuel to dry out very fast.”
Despite recent rain, most of the Carolinas are abnormally dry or experiencing a moderate drought, according to federal monitors.
This story has been corrected to show that officials were not recommending evacuations near the Persimmon Ridge Fire, but residents should be prepared to leave their homes if one is suggested.
Firefighters prepare to fight the wildfires in Polk County, N.C., on Saturday, March 22, 2025. (WLOS-TV via AP)
Smoke from the wildfires fill the sky in Polk County, N.C., on Saturday, March 22, 2025. (WLOS-TV via AP)
Firefighters prepare to fight the wildfires in Polk County, N.C., on Saturday, March 22, 2025. (WLOS-TV via AP)
In this March 23, 2025, photo released by the U.S. National Guard shows a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from the 1-111th General Support Aviation Battalion, 59th Aviation Troop Command, McEntire Joint National Guard Base in Eastover executing its fire suppression mission in support of the South Carolina Forestry Commission at Persimmon Ridge Fire near Greenville, S.C. (Sgt. 1st Class Roberto Di Giovine/U.S. Army National Guard via AP)
In this March 23, 2025, photo released by the U.S. National Guard shows a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from the 1-111th General Support Aviation Battalion, 59th Aviation Troop Command, McEntire Joint National Guard Base in Eastover executing its fire suppression mission in support of the South Carolina Forestry Commission at Persimmon Ridge Fire near Greenville, S.C. (Sgt. 1st Class Roberto Di Giovine/U.S. Army National Guard via AP)
