Illinois (3-2) entered the game with victories against North Carolina Central, the Miami RedHawks and UC Riverside and a loss to Southern Illinois Edwardsville.
Jenna Giacone scored 17 points for Dayton. Erin Whalen had nine.
Dayton opened the game with a 6-0 run and led 22-14 after the first quarter. It pushed the lead to 30-16 before Illinois rallied, outscoring Dayton 14-2 in the final 4:31 of the half. It was a back-and-forth game for much of the third quarter, but Dayton went on a 10-1 run to end the quarter and led 52-42 after three quarters. Illinois got no closer than eight points in the final quarter.
Dayton won, in part, by making 12 of 23 3-pointers (52.2 percent). It did not top 30 percent in its previous four games.
Dayton returns to action at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Florida A&M at UD Arena. The Rattlers (0-3) also play the Ohio Bobcats in Athens on Monday.
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