'That's absolutely amazing to me'

CHAMPAIGN Kendall Bostic arrived at Illinois after transferring in from Michigan State not super confident about her offensive game.

Her words.

A coaching change following her sophomore year with the Illini as Nancy Fahey retired and Shauna Green arrived from Dayton didn't really change that narrative.

But Bostic also realized one thing about herself in her early days as a women's college basketball player.

The Kokomo, Ind., native had a knack for rebounding.

That's something Bostic knew she could take ownership of with her offense eventually coming along to pair with those strong rebounding exploits ever since Green has been the Illinois coach.

Rebounding prowess that saw Bostic put her name alone in the Illinois women's basketball record books on Monday night in a 74-38 rout of Purdue at State Farm Center.

Bostic boxed out 6-foot-4 Boilermakers forward Lana McCarthy and pulled down the board on Sophie Swanson's missed three-pointer.

The 6-2 Bostic paused for a second, held the ball up in the air with one hand as her Illini teammates ran ahead on offense before throwing an outlet pass to Genesis Bryant.

What might have seemed like any other rebound, however, wasn't for Bostic.

That board the 1,218th of her career at Illinois was historic.

No player in the history of Illinois women's basketball, after all, has more rebounds than Bostic, with Bostic passing Illini Hall of Famer Jenna Smith's previous all-time mark of 1,217.

"I feel like when I first got here, I was not super confident offensively," Bostic said after finishing with 17 points on 6 of 10 shooting and 11 rebounds.

Her 1,282 career boards, which include one season with the Spartans, rank third in Big Ten history behind Iowa's Megan Gustafson (1,460) and Ohio State's Jantel Lavender (1,422).

"I just didn't have my rhythm yet in college basketball, and so I feel like rebounding was a way I could maintain (being a starter) without having to score a lot and still be able to work on it," Bostic continued.

"And then I realized, I'm kind of good at it.

Then, I'm like, 'OK, this is achievable.' It wasn't until my junior year, when I was kind of like, 'If I stay on track, I can get this (Illinois record).' It's really cool.

It's something that you have wanted for so long and you think about every game and I'm keeping track, and I'm like, 'I want this.' You know, rebounding, I don't think enough people appreciate rebounding, and I think that's something I've really taken to heart and love to do it." That record-establishing rebound on Monday night was basically the final contribution Bostic had against Purdue, too.

A fitting end to her night.

A Berry Wallace layup with four minutes, 59 seconds left in the third quarter led Purdue coach Katie Garelds to call timeout.

That led to Bostic's teammates with Adalia McKenzie leading the way to run out to greet Bostic at midcourt as the team jumped up and down to celebrate Bostic's accomplishment with the videoboard at State Farm Center also marking Bostic's occasion and the fans chanting her name.

"I kind of held it for a second to take it in, and you know, running back down the court and realizing that the whole arena is chanting your name is a moment, I had goosebumps," Bostic said.

"I won't forget that." That Illinois (15-5, 5-4 Big Ten) held Purdue (7-13, 0-9) to 38 points, the third-fewest points the Illini had ever allowed in a Big Ten game made it to where Green could sit her most valuable player for the remaining 15 minutes of the 36-point win.

A result that was never really in doubt with the way Illinois started.

The Illini mixed a locked-in approach defensively with an efficient offense against the Boilermakers.

That led to Illinois hitting eight three-pointers and delivering 16 assists on 27 made field goals as a team to shoot 49.1 percent for the game.

That was more than enough, as the Illini led 24-11 after the first quarter and stretched that advantage to 21 points at the half with Illinois ahead 40-19 entering the locker room.

It all set the scene for a third quarter where Bostic achieved the record she had long sought, and perhaps more importantly, Green had the opportunity to rest her starters with Illinois only halfway through its 18-game Big Ten gantlet and relying on a six-deep rotation most nights now that Makira Cook and Gretchen Dolan are out for the rest of the season.

"She's handled it great," Green said of Bostic's record pursuit with her Illini now heading out east later this week to first play at Rutgers on Thursday night.

"All of it.

She just goes out there and plays.

She's just such a process-driven kid.

"Her never being satisfied and her work ethic and her determination and just setting a goal and fighting like hell to reach that.

That's just who she is as a person in everything she does.

You can tell that with how she's progressed as a scorer.

She's not just a rebounder.

She's not just an inside player.

Now, she's a player that can do a variety of things.

That can score at all three levels and is one of the best rebounders in the country and one of the best rebounders in the conference ever by those numbers.

That's crazy to think about, again at 6-1 on a good day.

That's absolutely amazing to me.".

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