Dec. 15—CHAMPAIGN — Illinois women’s basketball coach Shauna Green and fifth-year senior guard Genesis Bryant have both described the way Berry Wallace plays in similar ways.
That the freshman forward is efficient.
Effective.
Maybe not flashy.
But on Sunday, Wallace was all three of those things. Wallace was also opportunistic against Southern Indiana. A short-handed Illini team benefited from a breakout game from its five-star freshman.
Because Wallace, who missed a full month with a right hand injury before returning a week ago at Ohio State, put her stamp on a 73-50 win against the Screaming Eagles with 4,108 fans on hand at State Farm Center.
A performance that saw the 6-foot-1 Wallace deliver a career-high 18 points in 23 minutes, 20 seconds off the bench for Illinois (9-2).
“I think coming off the bench has helped a lot because it’s a source of motivation because I want to be out there,” said Wallace, who also had four rebounds and two steals and was plus 26 for the game, the highest mark of the 10 Illinois players who appeared in the 23-point win. “Watching in the beginning, seeing what we need, I think that helps me a lot, just wanting to be that energy off the bench and fueling the fire. Coach (Green) talks about that a lot. I think that brings a lot of motivation and encouragement.”
But how Wallace has been able to make an immediate impact in the last three games has both been the direct result of watching and soaking up knowledge when she couldn’t play and what she’s done in the practice gym at Ubben Basketball Complex the past week or so.
That was evident in the second quarter when Wallace hit for a pair of corner three-pointers.
Three-point makes that gave Illinois an early spark against USI (8-3) after the Illini struggled to deal with their opponent’s 2-3 zone defense in the first quarter especially.
“Definitely just reps,” Wallace said of what’s prepared her for games like Sunday. “I’m definitely trying to get shots that I know I’ll be taking in the game. Whether that’s coming off screens or a lot of times running to the corner off of skip passes or catching the ball in the middle of the zone.”
“I was able to do a lot of learning (while injured), just from the sidelines and in practice watching everyone and learning from their mistakes and just being able to solidify the plays and making sure I’m confident when I go back on the court. So, I think that was really good for me of helping build confidence to come back and start playing again.”
A 12-point second-quarter burst from Wallace, plus a late putback layup for sophomore guard Cori Allen just before the halftime buzzer, gave Illinois momentum with a 28-17 lead.
Momentum the Illini eventually carried over into the second half with their Phoenix transition offense a big part of a third quarter that saw Illinois extend its lead to 20 points.
That the Illini later finished off what would become a straightforward win after looking out of sorts in the first quarter was aided by their dominance on the glass, as well. Illinois outrebounding USI 44-26 was keyed by Kendall Bostic, with the 6-2 fifth-year senior forward collecting an impressive double-double of 17 points and 16 rebounds.
But it was Wallace who was the story of Sunday’s win.
“We expected her to come in and play right away and to make an impact,” Green said. “So, you know, who knows where that would be if she didn’t (get injured). Before she got hurt, we were really going to try to keep her at the 4 just because we wanted her to feel comfortable at that position and not overwhelm her. But then when she was out, we went, ‘OK, well, how can we utilize this time?’ She was studying all the plays (for the 3 position), walking through them and now you look (Sunday), a majority of her minutes were at the 3. … The thing that I’m happy with is she’s healthy No. 1 and she’s just able to go out there and she’s helping our team and she’s confident.”
