No. 2 UCLA (20-1, 10-0) came into this matchup as the clear favorites, but Illinois (15-6, 5-5) made UCLA work hard for that win. Illinois was able to get the first points of both the first and second quarters. The Illini also got the lead to single digits multiple times. Ultimately, the Bruins got the best of the Illini Wednesday night and handed them a 67-80 loss.
“They gave us all we could handle,” said UCLA head coach Cori Close.
The Illini outscored all but two of the Bruins’ previous Big Ten opponents. More than that, the Illinois defense held UCLA on the much lower end of its conference performances.
“UCLA is gonna be a national championship contender,” said head coach Shauna Green. “They have all the pieces it takes to win it all. And we showed we can play right there with them for a lot of the game.”
Sophomore forward Berry Wallace was locked up for most of the game. This gave freshman forward Cearah Parchment and freshman guard Destiny Jackson room to show out. Parchment recorded a season-best 26 points, and Jackson dropped 15 points to lead Illinois.
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
But when the Bruins got going, it was hard to stop them. Even when senior center Lauren Betts was spending more time on the bench than on the court, Illinois struggled to get stops. Poorer defense on the baseline and in the paint let the Bruins protect their lead even when the Illini’s offense was on a run.
Fouls, free throws were in Bruins’ favor
In a turn of events that doesn’t happen often for the Illini, free throws helped the other team more than them. Two key Illini fouled out in the fourth quarter, leading scorer Parchment and Betts’ primary defender, redshirt sophomore center Lety Vasconcelos. When Vasconcelos came out, Green sent in freshman forward Naomi Benson, who recorded three fouls in her two minutes guarding Betts.
On the other end, multiple Bruins got into foul trouble as well, including the senior Betts. She racked up three fouls quickly in the first quarter, even recording a technical when she slammed the ball on the ground after fouling junior guard Jasmine Brown-Hagger.
Betts made a comeback in the second half, finishing as her team’s leading scorer with 23 points. This is largely due to Green having to manage Vasconcelos’ minutes due to foul trouble, and it only got worse once the center left the game for good.
Forced UCLA to play differently
More fouls from the Illini were mostly due to them guarding the three-point line so well. Only one three-pointer was made by the conference-leading three-point shooting team (38.4%). The Bruins have multiple ways to score, so losing the three wasn’t a huge detriment to the squad, but it still altered their play style in a way the team doesn’t see much.
“They did something that very few teams have done and we were okay with this,” Close said regarding the Illini’s three-point defense. “They weren’t sending double and triple teams. So, if you’re going to do that, we’re just going to try to pound the paint. It also got us to the free-throw line more.”
Because of her technical, Betts went to the bench for most of the first half. In her place, her sister, freshman forward Sienna Betts, stepped up and filled in on the offensive end. The freshman put on a show and scored all 10 of her points in the first half.
“I was honestly just really, really excited,” Betts said about getting the opportunity to step in for her sister. “I was just excited to go out there and play with them, but also a little nervous. Things happen in games, so just being prepared for that moment. I went out there and remembered all the reps we took, just knowing that I’m ready for this moment.”
Newbies bring a second-half return
Illinois kicked off the second half with energy. It had a faster pace, and more shots were falling, and it were disruptive. This resonated strongly with the crowd, and the noise in the arena grew louder.
The freshmen were showing off, with Jackson and Parchment scoring all the Illini’s third-quarter points (18). Their efforts helped cut the lead from 14 to 7. The two had lit a fire and were carrying the offensive load. They were able to work the paint in their favor, hitting from the midrange and finishing at the rim even against the taller Bruins.
“There aren’t many guards that have been able to go around and finish over Lauren Betts,” Close said in praise of the freshmen. “And I’m talking across the country. She’s the national defensive player of the year, so credit to them. We had to pick our poison a little bit once we took away Wallace.”
Parchment was the hot hand for the Illini. She set a new career best 26 points and had her most efficient 20-point performance with 10 for 13 from the floor, 3 for 4 from three and 3 for 4 from the free throw line.
Jackson matched her second-highest in points, knocking down 15. Both she and junior guard Maddie Webber had back-to-back double-digit games for the first time since conference play started.
Also notable was Vasconcelos’ defense on Lauren Betts in the third quarter. Betts is a shifty offensive player, especially for size. She can move so fluidly that it’s hard for other centers to shut her down as she does to them. But Vasconcelos had her best defensive game yet and stuck on Betts to hold her to 5 points in the first half and directly altered two of her first attempts at the basket.
Ultimately, this second-half surge wasn’t enough to overcome the depth and experience that UCLA brought to Champaign. Hopefully, the defensive effort from Vasconcelos and the shooting efficiency from the freshman is something the Illini take with them on their West Coast road trip coming up.
@briedirl
