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On Thursday night, Indiana welcomed Illinois into Assembly Hall for an evening clash in the Big Ten.

The Hoosiers, behind a slow start and the dominance of two of Illinois' stars, fell in defeat, 68-54, to the Illini, dropping to 12-5 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten play on the season.

Here's how it happened.

The first half wasn't one to remember for Indiana on Thursday night. Behind struggles not just on the offensive end of the floor but the defensive end as well, the Hoosiers fell behind early to the Illini.

After Yarden Garzon opened the scoring with a 3-pointer—picking up right where she left off from Iowa—Illinois followed suit with a 19-5 run, taking a double-figure lead as early as five and a half minutes into the game. By the end of the first frame, Illinois led by 11. The Illini shot 64.7% from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point range in the opening quarter.

On the flip side, the Hoosiers shot just 40.0% from the floor through the first 10 minutes. Indiana began the game 2-of-3 from beyond the 3-point arc, which kept the game within reach.

Indiana had difficult slowing down Adalia McKenzie and Kendall Bostic on the defensive end of the floor, while Bostic's defensive presence limited the Hoosiers' ability to attack the basket. Whether it was Bostic's rim deterrence or not, Indiana shot just 4-of-12 from 2-point range in the first quarter.

The second quarter was more of the same for the Hoosiers, at least on the offensive end of the floor. While Indiana's defense picked it up, allowing just 10 second quarter points on 5-of-16 (31.3%) shooting from the floor, the Hoosiers mustered just eight point in the second frame, going 3-of-11 from the floor.

All told, Indiana turned it over seven times in the first half. The Hoosiers shot 34.6% from the field and 33.3% from downtown, taking a 13-point deficit into the halftime locker room.

Thursday night inside of Assembly Hall, it was Adalia McKenzie and Kendall Bostic that stole the show for Illinois.

Through the first half of Thursday night's affair, the tandem of McKenzie and Bostic outscored Indiana. The Illini duo combined for 26 first half points on 12-of-21 (57.1%) shooting from the floor and 2-of-3 (66.6%) shooting from deep. Meanwhile, Indiana managed just 22 first-half points, while shooting 34.6% from the field as a team.

Bostic, specifically, presented a number of challenges for Indiana on both ends of the floor. For the Hoosiers offensively, Bostic, while tallying just one block, was a constant presence down low for the Illini. Her presence in the painted area was a consistent deterrent for any would-be drivers for throughout the game for Indiana.

On the other end of the floor, Indiana struggled to guard any action that Bostic was in. Throughout the first quarter, where Bostic scored nine of her 21 points, the Hoosiers were asking either Lily Meister or Karoline Striplin to hedge on every ball screen.

However, as Bositc and Illinois continued to punish Indiana for doing so, the Hoosiers were forced to begin switching everything. The latter was more effective, although it didn't completely stop Bostic from hunting the mismatches and scoring.

On the evening, Bostic tallied 21 points and eight rebounds, while McKenzie notched 15 points, five rebounds and four assists. Combined the two accounted for 36 of Illinois' 68 points.

Behind the performances of two of the three leading scorers for the Illini, Illinois came into Assembly Hall and pulled out a big win after surviving a late Indiana comeback attempt.

Indiana trailed by as many as 15 points, as late as about three minutes into the third quarter on Thursday night. Despite facing an up-hill climb, the Hoosiers battled back and made things interesting late against the Illini.

Indiana trailed by 15 points with 7:18 to go in the third quarter, tying its largest deficit of the night. Four minutes later, the Hoosiers had cut that Illini lead to 13. Then, Sydney Parrish scored five straight to get Indiana back to within eight. That prompted Illinois head coach Shauna Green to use a timeout.

Entering the fourth quarter trailing by eight points, Indiana scored the first four points of the final frame to get back within four points. The Assembly Hall crowd was on its feet, willing the Hoosiers to what looked like it could be an improbable comeback.

Then, Genesis Bryant hit a free throw for Illinois. That was followed up by five consecutive points, including a crowd-silencing and back-breaking triple from Berry Wallace that pushed the Illini lead back up to double-figures.

For the final six-plus minutes of the game, Illinois kept Indiana at arms reach. In the end, Illinois survived Indiana's bid at a comeback, winning 68-54.

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