Betts, No. 2 UCLA too much down low for Illinois

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Too big of a hole against one of the two best teams in the country.

Despite a valiant effort in the third quarter on Wednesday night at State Farm Center, Illinois didn’t have enough to gather one of the biggest upsets in program history, as the Illini fell to Lauren Betts and No. 2 UCLA, 80-67.

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Illinois was lacking defense in the paint and the Bruins were scoring down low with ease, even with the All-American forward Betts out early with foul trouble.

“Just an unbelievable team across the board,” said Illinois head coach Shauna Green. “[UCLA] presents a lot of problems in trying to stop them.”

Despite a third quarter comeback led by freshmen Cearah Parchment and Destiny Jackson, foul trouble for Illinois bigs and constant post scoring from Betts gave the Bruins the win.

Green knew the Bruins’ size was going to be a challenge and sophomore center Lety Vasconcelos got the start in an attempt to combat this along with nine players getting first half minutes, a rarity for Green.

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“I’m really proud of her,” Green said.

Although she fouled out in the fourth, Vasconcelos made a huge impact on the game having the second-highest box plus minus on the team at -1.

“I thought she was a huge presence defensively,” Green said. “She was good in her help and protecting the rim, which we have not had in a while.

Illinois (15-6, 5-5 Big Ten) was able to stop Betts at times, leading her to shoot 8-20 from the field, but her free throw shooting and five offensive rebounds led her to continue to score the basketball.

“She’s one of the best post players in the country,” Green said. “And one of the best to ever play the game.”

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Illinois also couldn’t keep its hands off UCLA (20-1, 10-0 Big Ten) fouling the Bruins more than 20 times leading to 23 points. Nine of these fouls were against Betts allowing her to the line or giving the Bruins another chance on the offensive side.

“As soon as I came out [in the second half] I knew that I needed to lock in,” Betts said. “Trying to find any way that I can step up and do a better job once I go into the game.”

The Bruins dominated the Illini in second chance points 19-3 and also won the overall rebounding battle 39-25.

UCLA head coach Cori Close clearly had her team game plan for Illinois’ leading scorer sophomore Berry Wallace. Even though she played the entire game, she was constantly double teamed, face guarded from even before the touched the ball, and always had a fresh defender on her.

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“We decided we were going to top block her whenever we could,” Close said. “Not even let her get to her spots where she’s able to get into rhythm shots.”

Wallace finished the game with only 11 points on 3 for 17 shooting.

UCLA is a veteran team with a starting lineup of all seniors, but it was the freshmen who showed up today for Illinois.

Jackson is only 5-foot-6 is much shorter than everyone else on the court for UCLA. Yet, she still managed to get herself into the paint and scored multiple layups over players over a foot taller than her and the reigning national defensive player of the year in Betts.

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“Coach told me they can’t stop you going downhill so keep attacking,” Jackson said. “So that’s what I did.”

She also only had one turnover despite being the primary ball handler for 38 out of 40 minutes.

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