Illini rebound after slow start for comfortable season-opening win
- Story byThe News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
- Illini rebound after slow start for comfortable season-opening win
Nov. 4—CHAMPAIGN — An extended official replay review after the buzzer sounded to end the first half gave the Illinois women's basketball team extra time in the locker room at halftime during its 2026-27 season opener against Detroit Mercy on Wednesday night at State Farm Center.
The normal 15-minute halftime clock didn't start until after a five-minute replay review by the officials confirmed a flagrant 1 foul call assessed to Illini sophomore forward Manuella Alves had been completed.
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Illinois had plenty to talk about at halftime.
And the Illini had that chance to make sense of what went wrong for them in the first half.
Turnovers? Check.
A lack of consistent offensive approach? You bet.
Fouling too much? Absolutely.
Getting beat defensively on straight-line drives? Also, yes.
The common theme was that all of those items were more about what the Illini didn't do well. A compilation of self-inflicted errors and mistakes that had Illinois only leading 36-32 at halftime. Whatever was said in the Illini locker room led to a performance more resembling a Top 25 team in country, with No. 23 Illinois posting an 84-50 victory against Detroit Mercy before an announced crowd of 4,010 fans.
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"At halftime, we definitely knew that that was not the standard of Illinois basketball," Illinois sophomore forward Cearah Parchment said. "We all just had an understanding of we need to be better coming into the second half. ... We just need to pick up our defense and stop playing selfish basketball, and I think that's what we did in the third quarter."
When Illinois won 22 games last season, it was by being so effective and efficient in its half-court offense. The Illini took the air out of the ball and played more methodically.
That's the kind of offense Illinois turned back to in the second half, with the Illini getting into the paint (and making free throws) and executing their high-low game by running plays through Parchment and fellow forward Berry Wallace.
That chemistry showed through again on Wednesday night as Parchment and Wallace both produced double-doubles in the 34-point win.
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"We both just knew, especially going into the second half, that we needed some scorers to kind of get us going on offense and just both of us stepping up defensively, as well, kind of having that rebounding piece, too," Wallace said. "Halftime, we kind of talked about (that) we need to be leaders out there. Just help the team, and I think we were able to go out there and do that."
Wallace, an All-Big Ten First Team selection last season, scored 21 points on 8 of 16 shooting and pulled down 11 rebounds. Parchment countered with a game-high 22 points by making 9 of her 11 shot attempts while also matching Wallace with 11 rebounds of her own.
"I think it's just so dangerous because we both are so versatile. We can both shoot," Parchment said of playing alongside Wallace. "We can both post up. That one-two punch is pretty hard to guard. We did more of that in the second half. We just play off each other really well."
That duo — plus the fact Illinois did a good job at getting to the free-throw line, particularly in the third quarter — was enough for Illinois (1-0) to finally pull away from the Titans (1-1).
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The Illini finished 18 of 21 at the free-throw line in the final 20 minutes with Parchment and Wallace responsible for 24 of the 48 points Illinois scored in the second half.
A final 20 minutes that allowed the Illini to come away with a 30-plus point win after a shaky first half.
"I was nice and calm," Illini coach Shauna Green deadpanned when asked about how lively her halftime talk might have been with her team. "No swear words and all.
"You know I know this team," Green continued. "I know when they need to be yelled at. I know when they need to be hugged and loved up. But there's certain standards that are just unacceptable. When we don't meet the standard, and that first half was just that."
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That a comfortable win would leave Illinois understanding there's still plenty of improvement to go is perhaps indicative of how much expectations have changed around the program.
That was something Green acknowledged afterward.
"I just think when expectations (are high) and we know what we're capable of doing and the standard is the standard, I know I want them to be the best versions of themselves every single possession," the Illini coach said. "We settled in in the second. Everything did feel a little more normal. That's something we all have to work through, and there's no excuse for that first half. I felt obviously better in the second half, but it doesn't sit well when I know we're so much better than what we did in the first. We have to learn from this.
"Like I told them at halftime, if you come out against any team in (the Big Ten) like that, you're down 40. This isn't a pick-and-choose-type thing and there's nothing in our program that is pick and choose. But sometimes you need to get hit and punched for you (to remember), 'OK, this is what we're about. This is why we defend with intensity.' I can get on them, but sometimes, you need to see, and more importantly, you need to feel it, and we felt it in that first half. Credit to our team. They responded."
