Illinois (16-7, 6-6) completed its first long road trip of the season 1-1. After upsetting then-No. 25 Washington (17-5, 7-4) on its home court, Illinois fell short against the Oregon Ducks (18-7, 6-6) despite fighting out of a 21-point halftime deficit.
The downside of the team’s inexperience and youth is that they need to gain more chemistry, especially with redshirt sophomore guard Gretchen Dolan’s extended absence. Unlike on Sunday against the Huskies, Dolan didn’t even suit up against the Ducks, meaning sophomore guard Aaliyah Guyton got the starting nod again.
As unimpressive as the Illini were in the first half, they showed significantly more effort in the second half and had a chance to win the game. Multiple players stepped up on both ends of the floor. The team had better shot selection, defense and offensive rebounding than they did in the first half.
“You can’t win at this level with one player,” said head coach Shauna Green ahead of the team’s trip. “It was really cool to see and hear Cece (Parchment) and Destiny (Jackson) after in the (UCLA) presser that Berry (Wallace) has been carrying them, and they knew they had to step up and score more. That’s growth. That just makes us even more well-rounded, harder to guard, so now we have some other options.”
First half riddled with mistakes
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The Ducks wanted to force the Illini away from the basket, and the first half was a major success for them. Oregon often trapped the ball carrier just past halfcourt in a double team, isolating the Illinois player away from the basket. This forced Illinois to eat into the shot clock just trying to move the ball towards the basket instead of taking shots. On one play, junior guard Jasmine Brown-Hagger even stepped out of bounds because she was forced so close to the edge.
One thing the Illini couldn’t seem to carry over from Sunday’s game was getting defensive stops. The team’s diligent defense and rebounding were crucial in upsetting Washington, but were noticeably absent from the first half against Oregon.
“We were able to get stops all throughout the game,” said freshman forward Cearah Parchment after Illinois’ win over Washington. “We were keeping people in front more than we have in the past.”
Sophomore guard Katie Fiso was all over every play for the Ducks. In the first half, she scored 8 points, six assists and one steal. She and her teammates often lost their defenders easily and attacked the rim. These defensive lapses were constant from the Illini in the first half and ended up costing them the game.
Too much fouling gave Oregon easy points
Given how young the team is, the amount of fouling may be due to exhaustion. This is the young team’s first long-term road trip, having now spent a week in the Pacific Northwest. However, this was no excuse for racking up 22 team fouls. Redshirt sophomore center Lety Vasconcelos fouled out, and Parchment and Brown-Hagger had four fouls each, which meant Green had to manage their minutes.
Parchment spent the majority of the second quarter on the bench and only checked in around the three-minute mark. Her defense, offensive rebounding and efficient shooting were missed during her time off, and her absence gave the Ducks the chance to extend their lead to 21. Parchment’s size and skill make her a threat down low, and with her on the bench, the team lost some size in the paint.
On the other side, Illinois forced one of Oregon’s top players, sophomore forward Ehis Etute, into foul trouble. Similar to Parchment, Etute had to have her minutes managed in the first half because of early fouling. The Illini are a much better free-throw shooting team (82.6% vs 77.6%) and have many players who are skilled at driving downhill, so they tend to rack up many fouls in their favor.
But this was not the case against the Ducks. At the final whistle, Oregon had only fouled Illinois 17 times, while Illinois had committed 22 personal fouls. More of the Illini’s fouls earned trips to the charity stripe, though, so drawing smart fouls was something the team did well.
Third-quarter effort needed to come sooner
The Illini have also shown their ability to adapt on the fly. The second half was a standout performance. Most importantly, the defense was much improved. Parchment drew a charge against Etute to start the half and give Illinois an extra possession. All game, Oregon wanted Etute on Parchment so the sophomore could use her smaller size to draw fouls from the bigger Parchment. Now, the freshman had flipped the script.
As a whole, the Illini stepped up their defense and rebounding. Team leaders in this area were Parchment and Vasconcelos, who combined for six offensive rebounds to push their team to a tie to end the third quarter.
“I have the confidence in her and the trust in her in order for her to be able to guard a smaller person,” Green said about Vasconcelos. “She’s moving really well.”
Vasconcelos ended the game with four offensive rebounds, three coming after halftime. This even beat out Parchment, who is usually the team’s top offensive rebounder. She also tacked on 8 points, three blocks and two steals, matching her season high in points and steals since nonconference play. Vasconcelos has shown in multiple games recently that she can rebound well and finish at the rim. If she can continue to be this dangerous in the paint, the Illini will be that much harder to beat going forward.
Up next
The Illini return home to Champaign after splitting their West Coast trip 1-1. Illinois’ next opponent will be USC (13-9, 5-6), led by Freshman of the Year candidate Jazzy Davidson. Green has been calling on all Illini fans to come out and sell out State Farm Center on Sunday.
@briedirl
