Despite clawing back from a 15-point deficit, Northwestern (8-11, 2-6 B1G) could not pull through in the final seconds against in-state rival No. 25 Illinois (15-4, 5-3 B1G), falling 74-71 at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill. on Sunday afternoon.
The Wildcats were paced by 21 points and nine rebounds from Grace Sullivan, who shot 10-of-22 from the field but missed a difficult game-tying shot on the baseline in the final minute. Xamiya Walton tacked on 19 points with a career-high five three-pointers, and Casey Harter and Caroline Lau both scored in double digits as well. Lau also had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but her deep, contested three missed off the backboard.
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For the Illini, Berry Wallace dominated with 29 points and nine rebounds. Despite shooting just 37.9% compared to NU’s 45.2%, Illinois secured the win through elite rebounding, as it outstripped the ‘Cats with a 42-27 rebound margin.
Losing the opening tip would not deter the ‘Cats from opening the scoring, as Sullivan found Walton in the corner for a quick three-pointer. Illinois answered with five straight points — a jumper from Jasmine Brown-Hagger and a three from Cearah Parchment — to take a 5-3 lead. From there, the teams traded blows, with the ‘Cats knotting things up at 11 after a big three-pointer from Lau.
Illinois closed the quarter on a 10-6 run to regain control. Maddie Webber hit a key three-pointer, and Wallace added another bucket for good measure.
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Sullivan kept Northwestern within striking distance, scoring a couple of buckets in the final 0:54. Nonetheless, Illinois took a 21-17 lead into the second quarter.
Sullivan picked up right where she left off, cutting the deficit to three after a Parchment bucket with a layup and a free throw to complete an and-1. After a defensive stop, she brought the ‘Cats to a 23-22 deficit with another jumper. Walton then gave Northwestern its first lead since the opening minutes with a pull-up jumper, capping a 7-0 run.
The teams then traded blows, with Aaliyah Guyton hitting a three for Illinois and Walton answering with one of her own after a Sullivan jumper to tie the game. A Lau layup forced an Illinois timeout with the Wildcats leading 31-26.
Out of the break, Illinois chipped away. Wallace scored inside, and after a Lau bucket, Destiny Jackson converted a three-point play to pull the Illini within two.
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Northwestern’s offense then stalled, as NU committed a turnover and missed its next three shots. Illinois took full advantage, closing the half on a 12-0 run over the final 4:24. Guyton’s jumper tied the game, and Lety Vasconcelos provided a spark off the bench with a putback layup and a free throw. Guyton then finished a fast break, and Wallace scored in the final minute to give Illinois a 40-33 halftime lead.
Sullivan led Northwestern with 13 points at the half, and Illinois’ Wallace had 13 as well. The Wildcats were led on the glass by Thomas, who pulled down seven rebounds despite an 0-for-5 shooting start.
The first-half Illini dominated inside. They took a 22-18 advantage in points in the paint and a 16-6 edge in second-chance points thanks to 12 offensive rebounds.
Illinois came out of the locker room firing, extending its halftime run to 17-0 with a Wallace layup and a Guyton three-pointer to take a 45-33 lead.
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The ‘Cats responded with a timeout and a 6-0 run of their own, highlighted by a Thomas layup and a Sullivan jumper, to cut the deficit to six. The teams traded free throws, but Illinois began to pull away again, using an 11-2 spurt capped by another Guyton three and layups from Jackson and Vasconcelos to push the lead to 15.
Northwestern showed resilience to close the quarter strong. Harter connected on a three-pointer, and Sullivan added a layup to trim the lead to 10. After an Illinois turnover, Walton buried a corner three to cap a 8-0 Wildcat run, cutting Illinois’ lead to 58-51 heading into the fourth.
Wallace pushed Illinois’s lead back to nine at the start of the final quarter, but Northwestern continued its furious comeback. Harter hit two free throws, Sullivan hit a jumper, and Lau drilled a three-pointer amidst just one Illini bucket to trim the deficit to four.
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After an Illinois miss, Walton’s layup made it a two-point game at 62-60. Wallace answered with a pair of free throws, but Walton struck again, nailing a triple to bring the Wildcats within a single point with 7:08 to play.
The game became a tense free-throw contest over the next minute. Wallace and Jackson combined for four makes at the line for Illinois, but Walton answered with her fifth three-pointer of the night to cut Illinois’ lead to 68-66. Wallace converted another tough layup, but Tayla Thomas answered with a putback to make it 70-68 Illinois with 3:53 left.
Vasconcelos split a pair of free throws, and Harter answered with a driving layup with 2:15 on the clock to trim the deficit to just one. Wallace immediately responded with a layup to put Illinois back up 73-70. Following a timeout, Thomas was fouled and split her free throws to cut the lead to two.
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In the final 1:08, Illinois missed three chances to extend its lead, but Northwestern failed to respond, with two Sullivan misses proving costly. The latter miss, a pull-up jumper over heavy pressure, rimmed out with around ten seconds left.
Parchment grabbed the rebound for Illinois and was fouled. She missed the first free throw but made the second, extending the lead to three.
Needing a three to tie, Northwestern inbounded to Caroline Lau, but her contested three-point attempt at the buzzer missed, securing a narrow 74-71 victory for Illinois.
The Wildcats will get another chance to take down a ranked opponent when, in exactly one week, No. 3 UCLA comes to face Northwestern at home in Evanston on Sunday, Jan. 25.
