The roller coaster season finally came to an end for first-year head coach Jolette Law and the rest of the Illini on Wednesday night. After some bumps toward the end of the season and a surprise run in the Big Ten Tournament, Illinois fell to Marquette 72-64 in the third round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament in Milwaukee, Wis.

The Illini failed to clinch their first trip to the WNIT quarterfinals but finished the season with a solid 20-15 record, giving them their first 20-win season since 1999-2000 and seventh in school history.

“The record doesn’t indicate how much we’ve grown this year,” Law said. “Overall, there were a lot of positives this season, especially these last few weeks.”

Illinois started the game well and went into halftime up 36-31, but the team’s defense was unable to make stops in the second half. The Illini gave up 41 points in the second half alone, while only putting up 28 themselves.

“We went on a run and went into the locker room up, but we weren’t the same team in the second half,” Law said about the difference between the two halves.

“Marquette went on a run and looked to attack in the first five minutes of the second half and we stopped dictating on defense and doing the little things that helped get us the lead.”

A key factor in the drop in the team’s offensive production was three-pointers. The team went 4-for-8 from beyond the arc in the first half but went a measly 1-for-8 in the second half.

However, four players did score in double figures for the Illini. Junior guard Lori Bjork led the team with 19 points in 40 minutes of play, while sophomore center Jenna Smith and senior guard Rebecca Harris each had 14. Harris also added six rebounds, four assists and three steals in what would be her last game in an Illini uniform.

Sophomore forward Lacey Simpson, who stepped up as a versatile threat during the Big Ten Tournament, had 12 points, as well as 14 boards and four assists.

But first-team Big East All-Conference selection Krystal Ellis proved to be too much for Simpson and the rest of the defense. The Golden Eagles’ guard had 26 attempts from the field to score 25 points.

Illinois advanced to face Marquette after it received a bye in the first round and then beat Drake 48-44 in the second round on Monday. Following their loss, the Illini are now 0-4 in WNIT games played on the road.

The Golden Eagles will move on to face Kentucky in the quarterfinals, while Illinois will have to wait until next season to play again.

“The challenge now is to carry this over and build on it for next year,” Law said about the season as a whole.

“I’m so proud of our seniors for everything they’ve given this program, and I am excited about what we have coming back.”