COLUMBIA, Mo. (Interstat) — The Illinois women’s basketball team used a dominant first half and weathered a fierce Missouri rally to secure a 70-62 victory on Wednesday night at Mizzou Arena, extending its strong start to the season.

The Fighting Illini, improving to 9-1, built a commanding 34-26 halftime lead by stifling the Tigers’ offense early. Illinois held Missouri to just 10 points in the opening quarter and maintained control throughout the second period. The Tigers, who fell to 9-3, found their rhythm after the break, outscoring Illinois 21-16 in the third quarter to close the gap and set up a tense final period.

The most critical sequence of the game came late in the fourth quarter with Illinois protecting a narrow lead. After Missouri’s Grace Slaughter cut the deficit to 58-56 with a layup at the 2:36 mark, the Tigers had multiple opportunities to tie or take the lead. On the ensuing Illinois possession, Destiny Jackson’s jump shot was blocked by Abbey Schreacke, but Jasmine Brown-Hagger secured the offensive rebound and scored a crucial put-back layup, assisted by Jackson, to push the lead back to four points with 1:14 remaining.

Missouri’s next two possessions ended in a missed three-pointer by Schreacke and a turnover by Shannon Dowell. Illinois then effectively sealed the game at the free-throw line. Gretchen Dolan sank two free throws with six seconds left, and after a quick Missouri layup by Jayla Smith, Jackson made two more from the line with 0.9 seconds remaining to provide the final margin.

Gretchen Dolan led all scorers with 21 points for Illinois, playing a game-high 40 minutes. Destiny Jackson, a guard from Chicago, orchestrated the offense with nine assists to go with nine points. Maddie Webber added 11 points off the bench. The Illini’s balanced attack and defensive pressure, which generated 13 steals, proved decisive.

Missouri was led by Grace Slaughter of Grain Valley, Missouri, who scored 19 points. Lisa Thompson, from Joliet, Illinois, provided a spark off the bench with 11 points and four assists in just 15 minutes. Jordana Reisma anchored the defense with four blocked shots.

The game was a defensive struggle, with both teams shooting below their season averages. Illinois struggled from three-point range, while Missouri was hampered by 21 turnovers.

According to Interstat’s ELO system, Illinois entered the game with a 79.90 percent probability to win and was a 7.5-point favorite. The combined score of 132 points fell under the over/under line of 141.5.

Illinois next hosts North Texas on Sunday. Missouri travels to face Saint Louis, also on Sunday.