No. 10 Illinois’ (21-11, 9-9) journey in the Big Ten Tournament came to an end on Friday night. The Illini fell to the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes (25-5, 15-3) in a 64-58 loss. Illinois lacked the effective shooting and defense it needed to pull away from Iowa and earn a spot in the semifinals.
“I don’t know if that’s fatigue, whatever it is, they just didn’t go in,” said head coach Shauna Green. “I always tell our players they’re not going to hear me get upset about shots that don’t go in. They’re going to hear me get upset if we’re not playing hard, we’re not giving everything they have, we’re not putting all-out effort, we’re not having all-out position, we’re not having all-out togetherness.”
While knocking down shots was a big issue for the Illini, several players tried to dig them out of the hole they found themselves in, but ultimately fell short.
*Berry Wallace: (B-): “Yeah, I think we were able to read how the defense was playing me and they were going under a lot of stuff, so we were able to get a lot of those pop-backs and threes for me,” said sophomore forward Berry Wallace. “I think they just weren’t going in. Those are shots I normally hit.”
Wallace said it best: her shots just weren’t going in. She went 5 for 17 from the field, but only 1 for 6 from beyond the arc. While Wallace was still able to grab five rebounds and dish out three assists, she did not have her best offensive performance Friday night.
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The sophomore still ended the night with 13 points and was the Illini’s second-highest scorer. However, her three-point shooting performance was subpar. Wallace was also close to fouling out, with the four player fouls she amassed Friday night. It was clearly an off night for Wallace on both ends of the court.
Despite that, Wallace is a crucial part of Illinois’ rotation. Even with her off offensive performance, she was still a vocal leader on the court to show up and help out her team.
*Cearah Parchment: (C-): Freshman forward Cearah Parchment had her worst game of the season. She scored only 2 points, but was still active on the glass and grabbed nine rebounds.
Parchment leads the Illini in rebounding and, as a freshman, has set herself apart on both ends of the floor. This uncharacteristic night doesn’t take away from what she can do, and that is why the bar is so high.
Parchment averages 8.5 rebounds per game and had a five-game double-double streak at one point. In the two previous tournament games, she was extremely efficient from the floor and the free-throw line. Parchment scored 14 points and was 5 for 8 from the floor and 3 for 4 from the line. Then on Thursday, she had 15 points, on 5 for 10 field goal percentage and 5 for 5 from the line.
She will need to take this game and quickly adapt in the two weeks before the NCAA tournament. Parchment rarely has back-to-back poor games, so a bounce-back is highly possible.
*Jasmine Brown-Hagger: (A): A lot wasn’t going right for Illinois, but junior guard Jasmine Brown-Hagger still tried to keep her team in the game.
“Jas is a great player,” said redshirt sophomore guard Gretchen Dolan about Brown-Hagger’s performance. “You know what you’re going to get from her every day. And today, you just saw that she had no quit no matter what the score said. She was going out there and doing whatever she could to help the team.”
Brown-Hagger’s 22 points are her season-high and were also a game-high. She was the best player on the floor, and she only scored 7 points before halftime, all in the second quarter. She came out of halftime and scored the team’s first 6 points of the half.
“Whoever it may be leading those huddles and talking, we’re all communicating that no matter the score right now, we’re gonna go out and give it our all,” Dolan said. “We’re not gonna get blown out in this gym, right here. So whatever it may be, it just helps everyone come together and gives other people the energy to play for her (Brown-Hagger) too.”
Brown-Hagger was a huge reason Illinois was able to get back into the game and cut a 22-point lead to six by the final whistle. That no-quit energy will be useful in tournament environments when the Illini may find themselves needing to rally like that again.
*Destiny Jackson: (B): “I mean it feels great to … make history because at the end of the day that’s what I came here to do and I know that’s what a lot of us came here to do,” said freshman point guard Destiny Jackson. “Honestly, just building on that and just continuing going forward,”
Jackson and the rest of the Illini did make history this season. They were the first Illinois program to make it to the quarterfinals since the 2010-11 season. Jackson was a crucial part of Illinois’ journey this tournament season so far. Friday night, she was the Illini’s third-highest scorer with 10 points.
On top of her 10 points, Jackson was quick and active on both ends of the court. She totalled four rebounds, six assists and one steal. Jackson truly gave it her all and is quickly turning into a more consistent player for Illinois.
“She’s a freshman point guard that’s still learning a lot, being on this stage,” Green said. “It’s a lot. I thought she had some plays, but she responded, as well. She ended up with six assists and only two turnovers so she took care of the basketball, which was something that was really important for her.”
The Chicago native knows the importance of consistency and giving it your all. Jackson fought for every possession and did not back down from the challenge.
*Aaliyah Guyton: (D): Sophomore guard Aaliyah Guyton has now had to face her former teammates and the Iowa crowd twice. The first time at Carver Hawkeye Arena, she scored 11 points. In the quarterfinal game, she had 2, both from the free throw line. Gainbridge Fieldhouse was packed with Iowa fans on Friday night. With such a tough environment, Guyton fell short.
Guyton has come a long way this season, but couldn’t help her team much in this win-or-go-home game. Playing a game with such a rowdy fan base as the Hawkeyes’ is difficult for any player, but especially for a former Hawkeye. However, Guyton did grab three rebounds and had one steal, so she helped her team with a little defense.
Maddie Webber: (C+): “Me coming on a team like this and also playing with a bunch of underclassmen, it feels great knowing that we can get to here, and it hasn’t happened in a while,” said junior guard Maddie Webber of Illinois’ time in the Big Ten tournament. “And I’m happy I’m able to make an impact.”
Webber really did make an impact for the Illini Friday night. She played with her typical spark off the bench and put pressure on Iowa defensively. However, like Wallace, Webber had trouble when it came to three-point shooting.
Webber’s three-point percentage is 41.0% for the season. However, Friday night, she shot 14.3%, going 1 for 7 from beyond the arc. Webber found herself in the same boat that Wallace did; their three-point shots were not going in.
Other than three-point shooting, Webber had a good night in the paint. She went 3 for 5 from the paint for a total of 6 points. Webber ended the night with 9 total points, one rebound and two fouls.
“I know what it’s like to go through adversity, so just keeping everyone together is the biggest thing,” Webber said.
While it’s her first year as an Illini, Webber brings in experience from her two years at Villanova. Webber was no doubt guiding her team Friday night and knows what advice to give them to get them through this tough loss.
Lety Vasconcelos: (D+): After having the best game of her career on Wednesday, redshirt sophomore center Lety Vasconcelos’ performance in the quarterfinals was disappointing. She missed both of her field goal attempts in the paint and her only other notable stats were three fouls and one turnover.
Green didn’t play Vasconcelos much, even though Illinois was struggling to shut down Iowa’s sophomore center Ava Heiden, who had 16 points. Vasconcelos’s fouls were on both rebounds and shots, which only extended the Hawkeyes’ lead and made the team feel more defeated as the Hawkeyes ran up the score.
Naomi Benson: (D): Freshman forward Naomi Benson saw only four minutes on the court against Iowa.
In those four minutes, she was only able to grab one defensive rebound. But she had two fouls and one turnover. Benson played with a sense of hesitancy on the big stage, and that led to not her best game with what she is capable of.
Hayven Smith: (D): Sophomore center Hayven Smith played her first game of this year’s Big Ten tournament Friday night. In her three minutes of play, Smith didn’t note any stats except one player foul.
While Smith was an active part of the Illini’s defense and provided some pressure on the Hawkeyes, it wasn’t enough to put a stop to them. Smith wasn’t the most confident on the court with her defense and got taken off the court quickly.
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