MSU women's basketball edged by Illinois in Big Ten tourney opener
· Yahoo Sports
INDIANAPOLIS — Kennedy Blair delivered the best scoring performance of her college career.
Visit fish-roadgame.com for more information.
That wasn’t enough to help the Michigan State women’s basketball team advance in the Big Ten tournament.
The No. 7-seeded Spartans had their comeback fall short while suffering a 71-69 loss to No. 10 seed Illinois in a Big Ten tournament second round contest at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday, March 5.
MSU had two chances to pull even in the final seconds but missed a basket with 14 seconds left and then committed a turnover in the final seconds.
“A tough loss for us tonight,” MSU coach Robyn Fralick said. “Early in the game I thought we really did a good job but didn't create a big enough gap when we were really playing some good basketball. Just some mistakes and ability to translate things we're working on — we need to do a better job of.
“Credit to Illinois. I thought they played a good game. We fought back and gave ourselves a chance there at the end, but we've got to play better throughout the 40 minutes.”
MSU (22-8) fell in its Big Ten tournament opener for a third straight season with its last win at the conference tournament coming in 2023 over Nebraska in the second round.
The Spartans trailed by as much as nine in the final quarter and pulled within two three times in the final two minutes. MSU was never able to get closer as Illinois got a key layup from Destiny Jackson with 1:27 to play and a pair of free throws by Berry Wallace with 43 seconds remaining while fending off the Spartans.
Blair, who was named second team All-Big Ten earlier this week, scored a game-high 30 points and was 11-of-18 from the field and added six rebounds and five assists. Grace VanSlooten, who also earned second team All-Big Ten honors, finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. Jalyn Brown contributed 12 points for MSU, which dropped its second straight.
Illinois (21-10) had five players score in double figures while avenging its 81-75 loss to the Spartans from Jan. 4. Cearah Parchment led Illinois with 15 points.
MSU will now wait to learn its fate for the NCAA tournament. The Spartans were in position to host following the NCAA's second top 16 reveal released on Sunday, March 1. After back-to-back losses, playing at home in the NCAA tournament isn't a lock for MSU, who will learn what's next in its journey on Sunday, March 15.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State women's basketball falls to Illinois in Big Ten tourney