Joey Wright

The road to December runs through November.

The road to November runs through October.

The road to October runs through September.

The road to September runs through August.

The road to August runs through July.

The road to July runs through June.

The road to June runs through May.

The road to May runs through April.

The road to March runs through February.

Starting Five: No. 17 Illinois 83, Northwestern 74 Among those on hand for Sunday's game: A Class of 2027 target, a recent area preps standout and a pair of fan-favorite musicians

Among those I caught up with before the #Illini beat Northwestern 83-74 this afternoon at State Farm Center: A Class of 2027 target, a recent area prep basketball standout and a pair of fan-favorite musicians. www.news-gazette.com/sports/start...

The road to February runs through January.

'A success story that was ended too soon' Centennial sophomore Dajuan Lane has organized an effort to have a Champaign street named in his cousin's honor.

Part of Kenwood Road in Champaign could be soon dedicated as “Daniyjah D. Staple Way” thanks to an effort led by Centennial sophomore Dajuan Lane.

“She just loved going out of her way to make a difference and make someone’s day,” Lane said of his late cousin. www.news-gazette.com/news/a-succe...

A capacity crowd at State Farm Center makes some noise for Luke Altmyer as he announces that he’ll return for another season with the #Illini.

FINAL: #Illini 70, Bradley 52

Illinois starts a long homestand by outscoring Bradley 17-8 in the final 10 minutes en route to its eighth win of the season.

Illinois leads 59-48 with 6:42 left in the fourth quarter, with McKenzie's 22 points now leading all scorers. Bostic has 18 and Bryant is up to 11 points. #Illini

Apologies. Credit O'Hara with a basket for Bradley during that sequence, so it was actually an 11-2 scoring edge for the #Illini to close the third quarter.

Barnes hit a three that tied the game at 42, but the #Illini finished the third quarter on a 11-0 run to take a 53-44 lead into the final quarter.

Five of those points came from Bostic, including Illinois' second three of the game, while McKenzie did the rest.

Illinois leads 42-39 at the media timeout with 4:47 left in the third quarter. New #Illini soccer coach Katie Hultin gets a nice round of applause as she’s introduced to the crowd.

Bradley entered tonight's game with one of the best perimeter defenses in the country. But the Braves' offensive output from beyond the arc has kept them in this game. A pair of threes from McDermid cut Bradley's deficit to 36-35 as Shauna Green takes a timeout with 7:29 left in the third.

That score holds for the final 81 seconds of the half and the #Illini carry a 34-27 lead over Bradley into the halftime locker room.

Bostic still leads all scorers with 13 points and Illinois is 15-32 from the field overall.

Bradley has been the better team from downtown tonight, with threes from Barnes and Carlie Vick keeping the Braves within striking distance. The #Illini lead 34-27 with 1:21 left in the half.

Illinois is 1-6 from deep tonight, with neither of its attempts in the second quarter falling.

Bradley hasn't had an answer for Bostic thus far. She's made six of her seven attempts from the field, plus a free throw to give her a game-high total of 13 points. She's also got four boards to lead all rebounders.

#Illini 28, #Bradley 21 with 6:45 to play in the first half.

Bostic had a nice sequence for the #Illini with a layup and and-one on back-to-back possessions. She's up to nine points overall to lead all scorers as Illinois leads 20-17 after the opening quarter.

#Illini lead 11-10 at the media timeout at 4:32 left in the first frame. Nelson and Abo Hashesh have each hit threes for Bradley to keep the Braves in the hunt, while Bryant has five early points for Illinois.

#Illini starters: Genesis Bryant, Jasmine Brown-Hagger, Adalia McKenzie, Brynn Shoup-Hill and Kendall Bostic.

#Bradley starters: Kaylen Nelson, Soleil Barnes, Ruba Abo Hashesh, Amy O'Hara and Ellie McDermid.

Tonight is Brown-Hagger's first career start. She's averaging 11.7 points off the bench.

Greetings from State Farm Center as the #Illini start a five-game homestand by facing Bradley for the first time since 2017.

I’m pinch-hitting for Joe Vozzelli tonight. Updates to come throughout the game with more on the way for IlliniHQ.com and inside tomorrow’s News-Gazette.

The road to January runs through December.