INDIANAPOLIS – Abby Laszewski had 24 points and 10 rebounds, Imani Lewis added 14 points and nine boards, and Wisconsin beat Illinois 71-55 in the Big Ten Conference women's basketball tournament Wednesday.
No. 12 seed Wisconsin (12-18), which stopped a seven-game skid, plays fifth-seeded Rutgers in the second round at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Thursday.
Sydney Hilliard scored 11 points and Niya Beverly added 10 and six assists for the Badgers. Wisconsin, which entered 10th in the conference at 13.5 assists per game, had a season-high 22 assists on 27 field goals.
Beverly hit back-to-back three-pointers 36 seconds apart to give Wisconsin a 17-11 lead one minute into the second quarter. Cierra Rice hit a three and Brandi Beasley made a short jumper to pull the Illini within a point, but five different Wisconsin players scored in an 11-0 run to make it 28-16 with four minutes to go before halftime. Illinois twice trimmed its deficit to eight points in the fourth quarter, but Laszewski answered with four consecutive points each time.
For Laszewski, it was her third double-double of the season. The Jupiter, Fla., native also led the team in blocks with three and is one away from moving into a tie for fourth place in the program record book with 129 career blocks.
Ali Andrews had 15 points and freshman Kennedi Myles had her eighth double-double of the season for the No. 13 seed Illini (11-19). Myles finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
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