Tulsa's season came to an end Thursday in the WBIT Quarterfinals as the Illinois captured a 69-61 win in front of a season-high crowd of 3,054 fans at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
 
Tulsa ended the year with an overall 25-10 record, while the Fighting Illini moves on to the WBIT semifinals with a 17-15 mark. The 25 wins for Tulsa is the second-most in school history behind 26 victories in the 2005-06 season.
 
Early foul trouble handicapped the Hurricane as star players Temira Poindexter and Delanie Crawford were saddled with two fouls.
 
Crawford sat the final 13:53 of the first half after picking up her second personal at the 3:53 mark of the first period. Crawford was scoreless in just 6:07 of the first half while Poindexter scored just four points in 10:09 of the first 20 minutes.
 
Poindexter finished the game with 19 points and Crawford 17, as the duo combined for 32 of Tulsa's 37 second-half points.
 
The Fighting Illini had a balanced attack with four double-figure scorers, led by Genesis Bryant's 19 points, while Makira Cooks added 17. Kendall Bostic and Adelia McKenzie added 10 points apiece, while Bostic had a game-high 16 rebounds.
 
The visitors jumped out to a 12-2 lead to start the game and led by nine, 18-9, after the first quarter. Tulsa got as close as seven points twice in the second period before the Illini scored the final four points to take a 35-24 halftime lead.
 
The Illini connected on 50-percent of its field goals and three-pointers in the first half, while Tulsa shot just 32-percent from the field and 33-percent from behind the arc through the first 20 minutes.
 
Tulsa would get as close as seven points in the third period three times, while Illinois' largest third quarter lead reached 15 points at 48-33 on a Gretchen Dolan layup. The Illini's lead reached 16 at the 7:55 mark of the fourth quarter, 59-43, when Makira Cook hit a three-pointer.
 
The Hurricane would get as close as six points on a Poindexter lay-in with 1:34 remaining on the game clock. Three-point attempts at 0:21 and 0:09 for the Hurricane missed leaving the Illini to claim the nine-point victory.