Illinois outworks Colorado, advances to second round

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Illini earned gritty win in first round of March Madness.

Illinois didn’t try to be perfect Saturday night. They just found a way I the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

In a game that stayed close longer than they probably wanted, the Illini made the plays late and pulled away from Colorado, 66-57, to move on to the second round. It wasn’t a game where they dominated from start to finish, but they controlled most of it after the first quarter and didn’t let things slip when Colorado made their pushes. Every time it got tight, Illinois had an answer.

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Cearah Parchment really set the tone early and never slowed down. The freshman came out aggressive, scoring nine points in the first quarter and helping Illinois take a 20-18 lead after one, including that buzzer-beater from Maddie Webber to close it. Parchment finished with 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting, and a lot of her buckets came from that mid-range area where she looked comfortable all night. With her 19th point of the game, Parchment also set the Illinois women’s basketball freshman scoring record, adding another milestone to an already big night. Late in the fourth quarter, when Illinois went a little cold and Colorado started creeping back, she knocked down a jumper that helped push the lead back out and calm things down.

Berry Wallace was right there with her, doing a little bit of everything like she usually does. She finished with 18 points and six rebounds, and four of those boards came on the offensive glass, which helped Illinois get extra chances. She had some easy ones in transition, including a layup off a pass from Destiny Jackson, but also had to work for her points later in the game when things slowed down. In those moments, she used her size well and got tough buckets inside to keep Illinois in front.

Destiny Jackson had one of her best all-around games. She ended with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists for her first career double-double, and she was involved in just about everything. She pushed the pace, made plays for others, and kept attacking even when Colorado started to apply more pressure. In the fourth quarter, she had a big layup through traffic that stretched the lead, and then later knocked down free throws to close the game out.

Colorado didn’t make it easy though. They kept hanging around and made a run late in the third quarter to cut the lead to three, then early in the fourth got it down to just one. Illinois hit a stretch where the offense stalled a bit, and it felt like the momentum could shift. But the Illini didn’t panic. They got stops, made a couple timely shots, and slowly built the lead back up.

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Maddie Webber had a few important moments during that stretch. The three at the end of the first quarter gave Illinois early momentum, and later she hit a mid-range shot to stop a Colorado run. She also came up with a steal that led to another scoring chance. It wasn’t a huge scoring night for her, but those plays mattered.

As a team, Illinois just did the small things a little better. They only turned the ball over eight times, which matches their season low, and forced Colorado into 14 turnovers. That difference helped them stay in control even when shots weren’t falling. Defensively, they made things tough and didn’t give Colorado many easy looks late.

Jasmine Brown-Hagger also stood out on that end, even while dealing with an injury. She stayed in and finished with four steals, making it harder for Colorado to get into any kind of rhythm.

By the final couple minutes, Illinois had done enough. Parchment hit the jumper, Wallace added another inside, and Jackson handled things at the free throw line. That was all they needed.

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It wasn’t flashy, but in March that doesn’t really matter. They got the win and kept it moving.

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