No. 10 Illinois (21-10, 9-9) was finally able to finish a close contest. The Illini as a whole outplayed the No. 7 Michigan State Spartans (22-10, 11-7) by far in this 71-69 victory. 

The Illini had five players in double-digits, with freshman forward Cearah Parchment leading the Illini with 15 points. Michigan State redshirt sophomore guard Kennedy Blair scored 30 of her team’s points. For most of the game, she was Michigan State’s only source of reliable production. Blair’s efforts weren’t enough, though, and Illinois got the close win. 

This marks the first time since 2011 that Illinois has had multiple wins in the Big Ten Tournament. It also means that returning players from last year’s squad get a redo of last year’s first-game exit. 

“I feel like we’re kind of on a redemption tour of last year, ” said sophomore guard Mia Zenere in the locker room after the victory over Wisconsin (13-17, 5-13) on Wednesday. “I feel like everyone’s just excited to get to the second day.”

Both teams struggled with turnovers, but Illinois had more trouble protecting the ball. The Illini finished with 17 turnovers to the Spartans’ 14, often losing possessions in key moments, making it difficult to extend their lead. Defensively, Illinois also struggled with staying disciplined in late possessions, and sent Michigan State to the free-throw line enough times in the third quarter to make a comeback. 

But, Illinois did just enough to move on to day three, where it faces No. 2 Iowa (24-5, 15-3) on Friday. The Hawkeyes will be missing senior guard Hannah Stuelke, who suffered an elbow injury while playing the Illini on Feb. 26, and will likely be out for the tournament. Here’s a breakdown of the four quarters that got the Illini this achievement that hasn’t happened in 15 years. 

Quarter 1: C+

Turnovers plagued the Illini early. They were cold to start, and it looked like they were off to another throwaway first quarter. They had four turnovers in the first minute and a half of play, and the Spartans went up 6-0. When Illinois did have the chance to generate momentum, especially at the free-throw line, it repeatedly couldn’t capitalize. 

While Illinois was struggling, Michigan State found a lot of success getting whatever it wanted. Blair started her career-high game with an 8-point quarter and constantly beat Illinois defenders off the dribble. 

But Parchment put on a one-woman show and got Illinois’ foot in the game. She had scored the Illini’s first eight points, matching Blair, after five minutes. She was smart with her shot selection, shooting higher percentage jumpers instead of going for threes.

Parchment’s scoring lit a fire under the Illini, and they closed the quarter on an 8-0 run. The Illini showed adaptability this quarter that they have been lacking in other opening halves. 

“To see the responses, to see the changes and the energy and the focus and the things we’ve been talking about the last couple days … it’s just awesome because that’s what this is about,” said head coach Shauna Green after the team’s win over Wisconsin. “It’s about progress, it’s about getting better. It’s about these guys understanding, using past failures to apply and adapt and execute in quick time, and they did that from the last game till now.”

Quarter 2: B

The second quarter started with both teams struggling to score. There was an over two-minute drought before Michigan State junior guard Rashunda Jones ended it with a putback. But after that, Illinois had total control.

All season, the Illini have waited until the second half to have a fiery comeback, but their resilience showed today. The youngest team in the Big Ten showed its adaptability and maintained the momentum it ended the first quarter with. 

Three-pointers separated Illinois from Michigan State. The Illini converted two of their three attempts from deep in the second quarter while the Spartans were 0 for 7 all half. Sophomore guard Aaliyah Guyton has risen as one of the team’s most reliable 3-point shooters, and her 3-pointer kicked off more Illini hitting shots from outside.

Illinois was also more secure with the ball, committing only two turnovers in the quarter to its previous seven. These cleaner possessions also led to better shooting efficiency. Parchment still led the charge this quarter, knocking down 7 points to be the first Illini to hit double-digits. 

Illinois also found its footing defensively. The Spartans average 7.5 made threes, but were held to 0 for 7 from deep in the first half. Blair also had her quietest quarter of the night with only two field goals.

Redshirt sophomore center Lety Vasconcelos had a much less showy game than on Wednesday, but had a big moment. Her block on Blair forced a traveling violation and gave Illinois the ball back. When Illinois has a steady defense to fall back on, its offense flows easily. The Illini ended the half with a 7-point lead. Illinois has been up at the half 19 times this year, and went 19-0. That continues after today, moving to 20-0. 

Quarter 3: C+

The Illini’s turnover issues returned at the beginning of the second half. Even when they got offensive opportunities, missed shots with no offensive rebounds allowed the Spartans more looks.

The Illini’s defense also fell apart against the tenacious Spartans after halftime. Following her big block in the second quarter, Green brought Vasconcelos back in to slow down Blair. However, the center didn’t do much this quarter and went to the bench for the rest of the game. This took away Illinois’ size advantage over Blair and senior forward Grace VanSlooten, who kicked off her breakout half with 4 points, two rebounds and one steal.

This quarter was won on free throws. The Illini shot 5 for 5 from the stripe, and these free throws were helpful to reverse the damage from the Spartans’ 9-0 run. Sophomore forward Berry Wallace tied the game up with four minutes to go on free throws. She also knocked down two again to end the half and give Illinois a 5-point lead. 

Despite struggling defensively, Illinois’ perfect free-throw shooting this quarter kept the Spartans from staying in control for long. It’s fitting that the No. 1 free-throw shooting team in the nation set itself up for an upset victory with a perfect quarter.  

Quarter 4: A-

Illinois pushed even farther ahead with back-to-back layups, which immediately set the tone for this intense finale. Freshman point guard Destiny Jackson had her most productive quarter, scoring 6 points without shooting any free throws. This heavily contrasts with Wednesday’s game against Wisconsin, where she was targeted for multiple fouls down the stretch. 

Michigan State tried a full-court press, but never forced an Illinois turnover before half-court. The press didn’t rattle the Illini, and they never let it speed up their game. But the final moments were still intense. At one point, the Spartans cut the lead to two and forced poor turnovers from the Illini. 

Both Jackson and Wallace played key roles in Illinois’ victory. But it was Jackson who disrupted the final pass of the game and forced the ball out of bounds on Michigan State. This prevented them from tying the game on a buzzer-beater to force overtime. Officials reviewed the play with 1.6 seconds remaining, but the call stood. Less than two seconds separated the Illini from this historic achievement, and they were able to hold on.

“We have one common goal,” said Jackson. “We want to win. So whatever that is, whatever that looks like, we’re doing.”

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