Vanderbilt eliminates Illinois women’s basketball from the March Madness Tournament – IPM Newsroom

After winning the team’s first round of the March Madness Tournament, the Illinois women’s basketball team (19-10, 9-9) was eliminated after losing 75-57 to the No. 2-seeded Vanderbilt (29-4, 13-3).
Illinois: Things did not go as smoothly for the Illini as they did in the first round. The team was dominated on the boards from tipoff as the Commodores got comfortable in their offense.
Once the second quarter began, Illinois began to crumble as it missed consecutive shots and repeatedly turned the ball over. This led Vanderbilt to go on a 10-point run and grab an 11-point lead heading to halftime.
Vanderbilt maintained the momentum in the second half.Illinois sophomore guard Berry Wallace tried to get the team back in the game as they were able to cut the lead back into single digits. 
Vanderbilt kept the Illini at a distance and grew their lead to 21 points, ending the Illini’s season.
Wallace ended the night with 18 points and nine rebounds. Freshman forward Cearah Parchment had 12 points and eight rebounds.
Vanderbilt: The Commodores showed why they were placed as the No. 2 seed, as they did not let Illinois take control throughout the whole game.Sophomore guard Mikayla Blakes recorded a near triple-double with 25 points, ten rebounds, and nine assists. 
Vanderbilt showed the value of experience in the tournament, as Illinois was one of the youngest teams entering the competition. 
It all started defensively for the Commodores as they only allowed 3 three-pointers from the Illini. Illinois shot 30% from the entire game, which is the worst shooting night for Illinois this season. Vanderbilt was also able to take advantage of forcing 16 turnovers by scoring 17 extra points to help increase their lead to as much as 21 points to end the game. Their next game will be against Notre Dame on Friday.
Illinois started the March Madness Tournament on Saturday as they faced Colorado in the first round. Freshman forward Cearah Parchment led Illinois with 21 points and five rebounds. 
It was a fairly close battle between the Illini and the Buffaloes. Even when Illinois seemed to be pulling away with a seven-point lead, Colorado came back to within a point of them heading into the fourth quarter.
In the final minutes, Illinois began to pull away and went on a late scoring run that gave them the 66 to 57 win.
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