The Illinois women’s basketball team (18-8, 8-7) got back-to-back wins for the first time this year with a dominant 76-56 win against Rutgers University (9-17, 1-14) Tuesday night.
Takeaways
Illinois: After coming back with a statement win against Wisconsin, Illinois looked to replicate that same intensity against Rutgers. But from the tip off, The Scarlet Knights took a page out of the Illini’s playbook with an aggressive start. Illinois was forced to take tough shots, Going 5 for 15 in their shots in the first quarter.
Heading into halftime, Illinois flipped the momentum, denying Rutgers the opportunity to score in their first 10 possessions. The shift allowed Illinois to get a 14-point lead.
In the second half, Illinois put more pressure on Rutgers and went on another 10-point run. Freshman forward Cearah Parchment was all over the court, leading the Illini offensively and anchored the team’s defense with four steals entering the fourth quarter.
Parchment ended her night with 20 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. This is Parchment’s tenth double double of the season, the most by a freshman in the last six years.
Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights started strong and took advantage of Illinois’ poor shooting in the first quarter. The team’s strategy allowed Rutgers to stay within one possession of taking the lead.
But in the second quarter, Illinois flipped the script, Rutgers struggled to get any points and missed their first seven shots. Rutgers turned the ball over five times in the second quarter and only made three shots in 14 attempts.
Coming out of halftime, the Scarlet Knights’ rough shooting night continued as they were unable to make a shot in the first four minutes of the third quarter. The point-gap grew as Rutgers continued to turnover the ball, ending with 18 turnovers.
Rutgers made four out of 15 shots from the three-point range, landing 39% from the field overall.
Up Next
The Fighting Illini Women’s Basketball team will travel up north to take on Northwestern University on Sunday at 2 PM.