CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Murray State came to town on Tuesday morning, but Illinois quickly taught them a lesson that that’s not a wise idea.
The Illini routed the Racers 84-64 on Field Trip Day at State Farm Center in front of 14,000 people, many of whom were children from around central Illinois. Sophomore Berry Wallace led the way with 22 points and eight rebounds, freshmen Cearah Parchment had her first career double-double, and freshman Destiny Jackson scored a career-high 18 points.
Advertisement
Racers go back to school
The atmosphere in State Farm Center was electric as the crowd was packed with young kids who used head coach Shauna Green’s permission slip to take the day off of school and come to the game. Over 14,000 people were in attendance, the third-most ever for an Illinois women’s basketball game.
“I think it’s really encouraging to us as well to have such a big crowd and so many girls that play basketball and look up to us,” Wallace said. “So I think it just helps us keep going and just stay encouraged every day.”
It was clear that the crowd was getting to both teams as it was pretty back and forth to start the game. Murray State had the lead with 4:36 left in the first quarter 11-10, but after a Jackson jumper to take the lead the Illini soared and finished the quarter on a 15-4 run to lead 25-16.
Advertisement
After this run the Illini never looked back and held the lead for the rest of the game.
The Field Trip Day crowd was in full support of the Illini throughout, as every time the Racers had the ball the high pitched screams were loud and constant as they echoed throughout the arena.
This noise clearly flustered Murray State as they had trouble shooting, only shooting 35% from the field, and an abysmal 57% from the charity stripe on 21 attempts.
Free throws were one of the main reasons Illinois was able to maintain such a commanding lead as they shot 91% from the line on only one more attempt than their opponents.
Advertisement
This free throw charge was led once again by Wallace who shot a perfect 8-8 from the line.
Everyday Women
This game was also a full team effort from the Illini (3-1) with four players scoring in double figures, and nine different players scoring a point.
Parchment had her best game of the season with a double-double notching 10 points, 11 rebounds, and a team high two steals.
“I think every game, every day, she continues to improve,” Green said. “The sky’s the limit, she could be as good as she wants to be with her skill set.”
Despite not knocking one down today, Parchment has proved that even with her size she can hit the three ball and be a true three level scorer.
Advertisement
Green highlighted Parchment’s versatility on both ends of the floor, and commented on due to this the team can constantly switch ball screens on the defensive side.
She also mentioned that Parchment has skills that no Illinois center has had in a long time. She has great ball handling skills for her size and showed that today taking the ball up the floor a couple of times, and coming off ball screens as the ball handler.
For the first time this season, the Illini’s bench came to play as a unit as well. Junior transfer Maddie Webber and sophomore Aaliyah Guyton were huge spark plugs off the bench, leading all reserves in minutes played at 21. Maddie Weber especially shined on the defensive side with multiple deflections, blocks, and stops.
“I thought today was her best defensive game,” Green said.
Advertisement
Wallace and Jackson also continued their stellar season on both combining for almost half of the Illini’s points, as well as being able to play the two most minutes of anyone on the team. Their chemistry is really beginning to show and will only grow from here as both players are still underclassmen.
Moments that mattered
6-777777777.
Berry Wallace with the deep ball.
Gretchen Dolan with the extra pass to Destiny Jackson for three.
Stat stuffers
-
Illinois had 23 bench points compared to Murray State’s 12.
-
Illinois had 38 points in the paint.
-
The Illini are now 3-0 all time against the Racers.
-
Berry Wallace led the team in box plus/minus at +21.
What’s next?
The Illini head down to Tallahassee Florida on Nov. 23 to play the Florida State Seminoles. The game will be played at 1 p.m. and will be broadcasted on ACCNX. Florida State is currently 3-2, and the Illini will be their fourth power conference game out of just seven.
Advertisement
After this game the Illini come back to Champaign to play Western Kentucky on Nov. 26.
