The Illinois women’s basketball (8-1) and Missouri (9-2) programs have met on and off for the past 35 years, totaling 17 contests over that time. Since 2019, neither the Illini nor the Tigers has been able to secure the Braggin’ Rights at home. Their last meeting was in 2023, and the Tigers have held the title since their three-point victory.
Wallace’s versatility anchors team
The Illini and the Tigers only met in an unofficial scrimmage last season, but the players’ intensity about this rivalry hasn’t wavered.
“Every rivalry game is big, especially one like this,” said sophomore forward Berry Wallace. “We’re coming in with the mindset that they’re a great team, we’re a great team. They have a lot of good shooters, so we need to always have a high hand on them. They can all shoot, they can all drive. We’ll be sticking to our defensive principles.”
Sticking to her principles allowed Wallace to start the year with four consecutive 20-point games. While her volume has slowed down as other teammates’ production has picked up, she continues to be an integral piece of the Illini’s frontcourt. She’s averaging 17.8 points and 6.8 rebounds, so she remains a target for other teams to keep an eye on.
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Her impact has come, in large part, because of her offseason training, where she focused on expanding her ball handling and playing off-ball screens. Her versatility allows her to be almost positionless. She is also unafraid of jumping into the fold and defending anybody. Her ability to get to anywhere on the floor forces teams to always keep a defender on her.
Missouri brings perfect mix of size, scoring
The Tigers earned their fifth straight win this Sunday against SIUE and will be hungry for more.
“This is gonna be a tough road game, but we’re up for it,” said head coach Shauna Green. “They have all the pieces. They have a big kid and good shooters around.”
Missouri averages a 6-foot lineup, so Illinois will need to work around mismatches. Team scoring leaders, 5-foot-10 junior guard Shannon Dowell and 6-foot-2 junior guard Grace Slaughter, both put up 11 points against SIUE. The duo has scored in double digits in all 11 games, and Slaughter is No. 4 in the SEC in points per game at 19.2.
Containing both guards will require the whole team’s effort, but newcomers, freshman guard Destiny Jackson and junior guard Maddie Webber, may be given the task since they both have used their athleticism to hold up skilled players in the past.
Illinois needs strong fourth quarter
Missouri showed that it was a strong second-half team against SIUE. The Tigers trailed by 9 going into halftime, but exploded in the second half. In both the third and fourth quarters, they outscored the Cougars by double digits. If the Illini have similar late-game struggles as they did on Saturday, a tight game could quickly slip into a loss.
Illinois delivered one of its most complete third quarters against Indiana before falling apart in the fourth quarter. Without their strong first period giving them the lead, that win may not have been so secure. Green joked in the post-game presser that the team only played well for 35 minutes. She hopes her team has a consistent performance on Wednesday.
“I never want us to be satisfied or get complacent, no matter if we’re up whatever; we still need to play to our standard and defend at the same level that we did in the first minutes of the game,” Green said. “We’ve gotta learn from the good things we need to learn from some of the areas we can improve upon.”
One crucial player on both ends was freshman forward Cearah Parchment. Her three consecutive double-double performances earned her Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. The way she fights at the boards to stop second-chance opportunities on defense and create them on offense will be crucial against a team that is so evenly matched on the glass.
The Illini head to Columbia, Missouri, to face the Tigers on Wednesday with tipoff set for 6 p.m. CST. The SEC Network will stream the matchup with another year’s Braggin’ Rights up for grabs.
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