Eleven days can make quite a difference.

On Jan. 10, the Illinois women’s basketball team defeated Northwestern with ease 65-47, but the Illini couldn’t repeat their performance Sunday, falling to the Wildcats 62-58.

“It was a very disappointing loss. I’m frustrated with our team,” Illinois head coach Matt Bollant said. “To come out here and have 2,500 fans come out and support us. With the way we played at Nebraska, to have a lack of energy and a lack of excitement to play in the first half was shocking and there was no excuse for it.”

Bollant cited a lack of discipline on both ends of the court as reasons for Illinois’ loss.

Illinois’ offensive struggles defined the first half, and the Illini trailed 25-20 at halftime. The Illini outrebounded Northwestern 20-16 and committed 11 turnovers to the Wildcats’ 12, but a 7-for-29 performance from the field, including going 1-for-8 on 3-pointers, led to the deficit. Illinois also committed nine fouls to Northwestern’s four.

Illinois suffered from foul trouble all day. Seniors Karisma Penn and Adrienne GodBold both fouled out, along with sophomore point guard Alexis Smith. The Illini were forced to play the final two minutes without their three starters.

“For four or five minutes, (GodBold) was the one scoring and making plays,” Bollant said. “It would have been nice to keep her on the floor and continue to make plays in the last couple minutes.”

GodBold led the Illini with 21 points and nine rebounds. She has now fouled out in six of her seven games.

“We need to find a way to keep her on the floor more — her fouling out really hurt us,” Bollant said.

Illinois opened the second half on a 14-6 run and took its first lead with 15:03 left. The teams exchanged the lead six times and tied eight times.

Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown was given a technical foul with 8:54 left. Amber Moore converted both free throws, and GodBold converted two on the following possession. Two Penn free throws on the next possession gave Illinois a six-point lead, its largest of the game, with 8:07 remaining.

Illinois led 54-50 when Penn fouled out with 5:25 left but was unable to hang on. The Illini were up 58-56 when GodBold fouled out with 2:00 remaining.

Illinois didn’t score after GodBold fouled out, and Northwestern finished on a 6-0 run.

Northwestern was the first team to play Illinois twice this season, and it was able to do a better job of solving Illinois’ Buzz defense in its second try.

“We just made plays,” McKeown said. “Defensively, they don’t let you run your offense, so you got to make plays, so I thought we did a better job with that tonight.”

One player who made plays for the Wildcats was senior forward Kendall Hackney, who finished with 21 points. Illinois couldn’t keep track of Hackney, and she found herself unguarded under the basket on multiple occasions.

Northwestern point guard Karly Roser also improved, turning the ball over nine times after committing 15 turnovers in the teams’ first meeting. Overall, the Wildcats cut down on turnovers, finishing with 23, 11 fewer than in the Jan. 10 matchup. 

Illinois was coming off a 62-52 win at Nebraska on Thursday, one of its most impressive of the season, but with Sunday’s loss, the Illini fell to 0-4 in games decided by fewer than four points.

Illinois was celebrating the 40th anniversary of Title IX by honoring local women who have impacted the community, as well as former Illini athletes. Among those honored were Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing, 2003 Miss America Erika Harold, Paralympian Jean Driscoll and basketball great Ashley Berggren. The Illinois volleyball, soccer, softball and women’s gymnastics teams were also honored. The teams were available for autographs and pictures before the game.

Illinois had a crowd of 2,495, the second-highest of the season, and the highest-paid attendance for a game since around 4,800 watched as Illinois hosted Marquette in the 2010 WNIT.

Johnathan can be reached at [email protected] and @jhett93.