{"id":31965,"date":"2026-03-02T09:19:42","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T15:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/?p=31965"},"modified":"2026-03-02T09:19:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T15:19:42","slug":"illini-women-fall-to-minnesota-78-73","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/sports\/basketball\/31965-illini-women-fall-to-minnesota-78-73\/","title":{"rendered":"Illini Women Fall to Minnesota, 78-73"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"image_print\"Print<\/span><\/a><\/div>

BY UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS<\/strong><\/p>\n

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.\u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/b>Five Fighting Illini scored in double figures but\u00a0Illinois women’s basketball fell to No. 22\/22\u00a0Minnesota, 78-73,\u00a0in State Farm Center on Sunday to conclude the regular season.<\/p>\n

Berry Wallace<\/a><\/dfn>\u00a0led the Illini with\u00a015 points,\u00a0Maddie Webber<\/a><\/dfn>\u00a0and\u00a0Aaliyah Guyton<\/a><\/dfn>\u00a0each added 14, while\u00a0Cearah Parchment<\/a><\/dfn>\u00a0and\u00a0Destiny Jackson<\/a><\/dfn>\u00a0tabbed 13 apiece.<\/p>\n

Illinois continued its sharp shooting from beyond the 3-point line, connecting on 10-for-19 treys, a 52.6% clip. Illinois has made 10 or more 3-pointers in its last three game and in four of the last five outings.<\/p>\n

Jasmine Brown-Hagger<\/a><\/dfn>\u00a0led the way for the Fighting Illini with five assists.<\/p>\n

The Illinois defense was effective at taking away the basketball in Sunday’s game, forcing 15 Minnesota turnovers while committing 13. Those takeaways turned into 15 points on the other end of the floor.<\/p>\n

How It Happened<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Golden Gophers jumped ahead 22-14 through the first 10 minutes of play.<\/p>\n

Minnesota kept adding to that lead in the second quarter, building a 36-21 advantage before Illinois went on an 8-0 run, highlighted by a bucket from\u00a0Destiny Jackson<\/a><\/dfn>, to narrow its deficit to 36-29 heading into halftime..<\/p>\n

Minnesota continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 48-37 advantage before Illinois went on a 7-0 run, punctuated by a three from Webber, to trim the Illini deficit to 48-44 with 3:35 to go in the third. Minnesota countered and stretched its lead to 58-50 heading into the fourth.<\/p>\n

Illinois narrowed its deficit to 70-65 before going on a 5-0 run, finished off by\u00a0Cearah Parchment’s<\/a><\/dfn> layup, to even the score at 70 all with 1:01 to go in the contest. Illinois was outscored 8-3 the rest of the way, ultimately falling 78-73.<\/p>\n

POSTGAME NOTES<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Player Notes:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n