Standout sophomores carried both Illinois (15-5, 5-4) and No. 24 Nebraska (15-5, 4-5) in the Cornhuskers’ 81-75 win Saturday. For the Illini, sophomore forward Berry Wallace carried the team on her back. By halftime, she had scored 18 of her team’s only 23 points. Sophomore guard Britt Prince bolstered the Cornhuskers as she led the team with 20 points and controlled the game from start to finish.
Prince was involved in almost every play. She could almost freely rebound, shoot and facilitate since the Illini never found an answer for her. Most importantly, she shot a perfect six for six from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter to secure the win against Illinois’ aggressive comeback.
Despite the six-point loss, the game got away from Illinois early on. It was able to rally from a 19-point deficit after its worst opening half of the season, but a strong defensive push wasn’t enough to overcome earlier mistakes.
“This league’s too good,” said head coach Shauna Green postgame. “We need to figure out that you have to come out and be ready to play. You can’t fight back all the time.”
Good: Wallace’s deep bag
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Illinois stayed competitive because of Wallace’s stellar first half, giving it a cushion. She attacked the basket from all three levels. She knocked down shots from everywhere, and her midrange and back-to-the-basket shooting were especially dangerous. No matter who switched onto her, she created something.
Wallace also contributed to every major category on the stat sheet. She had six rebounds, two assists, one block and two steals. However, Nebraska adjusted and forced the ball out of her hands, realizing that the Illini couldn’t generate offense from anyone else. This resulted in her finishing with five turnovers.
Good: Fourth quarter defense
When Illinois got it together in the fourth quarter, it was a reminder of why they’re contending for a top-25 spot.
Junior guard Jasmine Brown-Hagger may have scored only three points, but her defense and energy were huge assets in the game’s closer. She showed off her athleticism, flying in for rebounds and running to force turnovers and get steals during Illinois’ late run. She also limited Prince’s usage late in the game by keeping her away from the basket.
Freshman forward Cearah Parchment also bounced back from a quiet first half. She went from having two points and two rebounds at the break to scoring in double figures in both the third and fourth quarters.
“Hard work is contagious,” Green said. “I’ve been on her to bring that fighting energy. But we need to bring that consistently.”
The relief that Parchment provided to her team on the offensive side was palpable. She turned five offensive rebounds into eight second-chance points. Parchment is her team’s best offensive rebounder, so her lack of interior presence to open the game took away a huge part of Illinois’ offense.
Bad: Bench production
Other than Wallace, Parchment and freshman guard Destiny Jackson, no other player was a reliable contributor. Jackson had her third-best game of the season, finishing with 13 points, three defensive rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block. But having only 2 points before halftime and not converting on easy drives softened her impact.
With redshirt sophomore guard Gretchen Dolan, an anchor for the Illini, missing time, Green needs to have faith that her bench can come in and push the team forward.
“Gretchen’s out, and we don’t know when she’s coming back, so people need to step up,” Green said.
Green rotated deeper than usual, pulling in redshirt sophomore center Lety Vasconcelos, freshman forward Naomi Benson, sophomore forward Irene Noya Catoira and Illinois’ sixth-woman junior guard Maddie Webber. But the group performed poorly.
While Webber is usually a high-energy player off the bench, even her game faltered against Nebraska. Still, she managed to push through her slump and finished with 11 points. This was not the case for Vasconcelos, Noya Catoira and Benson. In their combined 18 minutes, the trio had zero points, three fouls, two turnovers, three rebounds and one assist. Benson had one block.
Vasconcelos should have been more of a threat, fighting for rebounds and altering more shots. When Noya Catoira came in early, she grabbed some rebounds and was part of defensive stops, but struggled to keep up that intensity. Benson often looked slow against the fast-paced Huskers and lacked the quick recovery necessary to defend in the paint.
“I keep telling them you can’t fight and then have three possessions off,” Green said. “Every single possession has to be locked in, focused, disciplined execution. Second half was great, but this is a 40-minute game, not twenty.”
Ugly: The first half
Illinois’ opening half left Green frustrated at the lack of execution and discipline.
“We had poor passes, we traveled, we had two moving screens back to back,” Green said. “Those are discipline and focus things.”
This anger from Green sums up the disappointing first half from Illinois. The Illini had four consecutive stops against the Cornhuskers that should have allowed them to go on a run, but uncharacteristic mistakes let Nebraska run the show.
The Illini grabbed only seven rebounds in the first quarter, all defensive. They let second-chance opportunities slip by without boxing out. Nebraska not only forced more turnovers but also got more points off turnovers than Illinois. The Illini failed to capitalize on similar moments. With its next match against No. 3 UCLA (18-1, 8-0), Illinois cannot repeat a performance like this.
@briedirl
