The third round of the NIT was as far as the Illinois women’s basketball team would advance.

The Illini (19-12, 8-9) were defeated by the Kansas State Wildcats 66-51 in front of 1,747 fans at Bramlage Coliseum.

Illinois went into halftime down by one, but the Wildcats (18-14, 4-12) had a 9-0 run midway through the second period. Wildcats’ starting guard Kimberly Dietz was too much for Illinois, as she scored 19 points and had two steals.

Freshman Jenna Smith scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Illinois sophomore Lori Bjork added 13 points and nailed two three-pointers but missed seven threes.

The season might have ended on a sour note, but the Illini advanced to the postseason for the 10th time in 11 years.

“I take my hat off to Kansas State,” Grentz said. “They hit some key shots, and (coach) Deb Patterson’s teams always play very hard.”