Illinois (16-6, 6-5) started off its West Coast road trip with a win against No. 25 Washington (17-5, 7-4). During Sunday’s contest, the Illini came out victorious against the Huskies, 75-66.

The Illini’s performance in Seattle showcased some of their best strengths, but also exposed some of their weaknesses. Despite their mistakes, the Illini took advantage of the Huskies’ weakness, forced turnovers and overall played harder, smarter and faster.

Sunday’s contest also featured redshirt sophomore guard Gretchen Dolan’s short return on the court. With each fast-paced quarter, here is a breakdown of Illinois’ four quarters that ultimately led it to its first ranked win on the road. 

Quarter 1: (B)

The Illini showcased their speed and defensive abilities well in the first ten minutes. Despite being down 1 point, Illinois played with a sense of athleticism and orchestrated smart defensive moves against Washington. 

Freshman point guard Destiny Jackson was one of the key parts of this defense. Jackson was primarily guarding junior guard Sayvia Sellers. This was a smart move on Illinois head coach Shauna Green’s part. Jackson was able to match Sellers’ height, but more importantly, her speed. 

Green also rotated Dolan, redshirt sophomore center Lety Vasconcelos and junior guard Maddie Webber off the bench. These three were also a part of the Illini’s defensive abilities against the Huskies. 

However, the Illini’s offensive performance could have been better. They shot 7 for 18 from the field, meaning they had a field goal percentage of 38.9%. If Illinois had been able to make some of its earlier shots, it could have been the key it needed to have a comfortable lead. 

Quarter 2: (A)

The Illini showed the Huskies what they are made of during the second quarter. They were able to build off the early momentum in the first quarter and become better and more accurate in the second quarter. Webber showcased her classic spark off the bench, putting up Illinois’ first points of the quarter. Her spark was evident for all of the Illini for the next 10 minutes.

Freshman forward Cearah Parchment also had a very active spark on both ends of the court. In the second quarter alone, the Canadian had 8 points, four rebounds and three steals. Parchment and fellow freshman Jackson have an undeniable chemistry on the court, and the duo was able to showcase that numerous times. Jackson’s accurate passes to Parchment allowed her to have some easy buckets during the second quarter. 

Illinois also spread the offensive load between Parchment, Webber, sophomore forward Berry Wallace and sophomore guard Aaliyah Guyton. Those four, along with Jackson’s fast-paced defense, are how Illinois went into halftime 37-29. The Illini noticed their mistakes in the first quarter and quickly fixed them to end the contest’s first 20 minutes on a high note. 

Quarter 3: (B-)

Illinois, once again, put up the first points with Jackson’s jumper from the paint. However, during the first half of the third quarter, the Illini seemed to primarily focus on their defensive performance to stop the Huskies. Guyton was active with her steals, and Jackson was able to block two of the Huskies’ shots. 

Also for Jackson, her resilience on the court was unmatched. After taking a hard fall on her back earlier, she was hit in the eye and seen crying on the sidelines. However, she returned unfazed and continued to play with determination and grit. 

For Illinois’ offense, Wallace, Webber and Parchment all put up 4 points each. Jackson had an additional 2 points to make up Illinois’ 14 total points. Webber, especially, was putting up a nice, easy and accurate performance. She made both of her field goals in the third quarter and picked up an offensive rebound. Parchment and Wallace, however, struggled when it came to making their shots. The freshman went 2 for 6, and the sophomore went 2 for 5. Both of these show a similar theme from the first quarter, with Illinois not taking the smartest shots in order to push it further in the lead.

Despite a slower offensive performance, Illinois’ defense is what carried it during the third quarter. Illinois’ defense continued to outsmart Washington. The Illini forced the Huskies to take longer possessions to run the clock. This worked out in the Illini’s favor, since they ended the third quarter with a 9-point lead, 51-40.

Quarter 4: (C+)

With 10 minutes to go, the game was still up in the air. Early on during the fourth quarter, Washington was able to capitalize on Illinois unraveling. The Huskies took advantage of the Illini’s moment of weakness to gain momentum, making it a two-possession game. Despite Illinois gaining more of a lead, this was due to the team’s free throws and its little action in the paint or from beyond the arc. If anything, the Illini completely fell apart during this quarter. This included Green, who was seen screaming on the sidelines at the refs.

The Illinois defense, which was mostly clean, had its messiest quarter yet. The Illini racked up 7 fouls in the fourth quarter alone, in contrast to the 10 fouls it had in the first thirty minutes. 

While free throws were in favor for the Illini, they still had an awful free throw performance the entire game. For a team that is supposed to be No. 1 in free throws, they performed nothing like it. Early in the fourth quarter, the Illini kept missing their free throws, leading to a 72.7% from the charity stripe at the end of the fourth and 70.8% overall. The only reason the Illini were able to maintain their lead and eventually take them to the win is that the Huskies had an even messier defense in the fourth quarter. Washington managed 14 fouls in ten minutes, which sent Illinois to the charity stripe 11 times during the game’s final 10 minutes. 

In spite of such a mess in the fourth quarter, the Illini pulled through with a 75-66 win against the Huskies. Their performance is a reminder that despite winning, mistakes were evident, especially when it came to shot selection and field goal percentage. 

Illinois will face its second West Coast conference opponent Wednesday against Oregon (17-7, 5-6) at 8 p.m. CST.

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