No. 7 Illinois (22-11, 9-9) and No. 10 Colorado (22-12, 11-7) played close for most of their first-round NCAA tournament game, but the fourth quarter was where the Illini pulled away for their 66-57 win. Coming into this game, the Buffaloes’ height and defensive pressure were the main threats to the Illini. However, the young Illini showed poise even as the lead narrowed, and the possessions weren’t always optimal.
“The biggest thing was the rebounding, coming into this, the battle of the boards,” said head coach Shauna Green. “And we were right there; we only lost by 2. And I thought if you were right there or won it, you’d have a chance to win this game, and that held true.”
Rebounding is something Green heavily emphasizes. The Buffaloes outrebounded the Illini 34-32, but the Illini stayed true to their game and won because of their energy and effort. They maintained that energy and extended possessions by diving for and running down every loose ball.
Resilient Illinois down the stretch
Illinois is the youngest team in the NCAA tournament field, starting one junior, two sophomores and two freshmen. Only four of the seven Illini who saw the floor have NCAA tournament experience, but the group played with composure as if they had all been there before.
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“Resiliency down the stretch,” Green said. “We’ve been in a lot of close games where this group has had to make those key plays, and I thought that that kinda came through today that our league prepared us for those tight ones and close ones against really tough teams.”
This maturity showed in the second half. In the third quarter, the oldest Illini and a very vocal leader, junior guard Jasmine Brown-Hagger, went down hard after bumping into a teammate. She had to be walked off the floor and couldn’t put any weight on her left leg. Brown-Hagger was Illinois’ best defender of the night and tied her career high of four steals. When she went out, Illinois’ defense lost some rhythm, and Colorado started to get hot again.
Instead of getting shaken and blowing the lead, Illinois responded by continuing to force steals and fight for every loose ball. Sustaining that intensity for the whole game was exactly what Illinois has needed in close games all season.
“We’ve had a lot of close games this season and some of them we may not have closed out earlier in the season,” said freshman forward Cearah Parchment. “But that experience helped us now. We didn’t make those mistakes that we were making, what, like a month ago? We did a really good job of taking care of the ball down the stretch, and making plays, and executing well.”
The Illini finally found that fight in their first game in the NCAA tournament, and it prevented them from having to fight down to the wire for the win. Comfortable wins like this are helpful because the second round game is on Monday, giving the team less than 48 hours to prepare for No. 2 Vanderbilt (28-4, 13-3) on its home court.
But the Illini also showed poise in their prep. The team didn’t look past this first matchup, approaching everything with a one-game-at-a-time mindset. This discipline is critical in the condensed style of tournament play, especially for such an inexperienced roster.
Freshmen shine in NCAA tournament debut
Both starting freshmen, Parchment and freshman point guard Destiny Jackson, led the Illini with their standout performances and led the Illini’s fourth-quarter surge.
Jackson scored 11 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter alone, including a 7-point run in four minutes. She extended her now five-game double-digit scoring streak and recorded her first career double-double, grabbing a season-high 11 rebounds. This is only her third game with 10 rebounds.
“It’s great for us, especially when a point guard is rebounding,” said sophomore forward Berry Wallace about Jackson’s rebounding. “And then it can start our break much easier and quicker. And she’s obviously very quick, so she does a great job with that, just pushing our pace.”
Jackson’s speed was extremely helpful in her ability to track down the ball and secure rebounds, especially against players much taller than her. But her speed also led to one steal, and she disrupted multiple other plays by the Buffaloes that won’t show up in the box score but were just as important.
Jackson will look to carry that energy into Monday’s game against the Commodores. Her teammates are confident in her ability to continually perform at a high level.
“She just has such great composure,” Parchment said. “She’s just really reliable. She got fouled, and I think she knocked down every single free throw. That’s something we can really rely on her for – she’s really consistent.”
The other breakout freshman, Parchment, added another milestone with her seventh 20-point game. She has now officially set the Illinois freshman single-season scoring record, with 451 points and counting. She passed center Chatrice White’s previous record of 448 in the 2014-15 season.
Parchment was also incredibly active everywhere on the court. She was a force in the paint and finished with five rebounds, one block and one steal. Parchment worked her way around the tougher and taller Buffalo defenders to help the Illini pull away. She was especially noticeable in the third quarter, when she got her 19th point, which earned her the scoring record.
Parchment and Jackson have a strong connection, and they routinely make intelligent plays. That chemistry between the rookie duo was evident when Jackson inbounded the ball with the Illini only up 4 midway through the third quarter, and they needed a quick bucket to fend off the charging Buffaloes. Jackson inbounded the ball quickly, and Parchment cut along the baseline and finished a reverse layup to put her name in the record books.
Smart, quick plays like that are what will be crucial for Illinois in the next round. The composure the young team has from all of their experiences allowed them to continue to play Illinois basketball at their own pace. They didn’t get sped up even when the game was getting close.
The Illini return to action on Monday and will play the dominant Commodores. Vanderbilt has gone 8-2 in its last 10 games, but Illinois can use its momentum to swing a potential upset.
