Three Observations From Illinois Women's Basketball's 70-62 Loss to USC

Illinois women's basketball accomplished an important mission Sunday, successfully selling out the State Farm Center for only the third time in program history. The downside: 15,544 filled the building in Champaign to watch the Illini turn in one of their sloppiest performances of the season and fall 70-62 to a solid but beatable USC squad.

The first half, in particular, was one the Illini (16-8, 6-7 Big Ten) wouldn't mind tucking away, forgetting and never again allowing to see the light of day. USC took Illinois for a ride to start the game, rattling off a 9-0 run and sinking five of its first six field-goal attempts – including a pair of three-pointers and a couple of buckets at the rim. The Illini scuffled on the other end as well, committing nine turnovers and shooting just 30.0 percent from the field before halftime.

Illinois eventually found its groove, shooting 11-for-21 (52.4 percent) in the fourth quarter and outscoring the Trojans in the frame, 25-19, but it was much too little, far too late. Destiny Jackson's team highs of 17 points, eight assists and eight steals was a largely wasted performance – though it's also evidence of her continued growth.

Here are three more observations from the Illini’s loss to the Trojans:

1. Destiny Jackson has found another gear

Jackson, Illinois' gifted freshman point guard, has passed the eye test all season. She has an advanced ball-handling package and an array of finishing moves around the rim, and is the quickest player on the floor nearly every time she sets foot on it. Jackson needed time to figure out how to consistently translate that to production, especially against Big Ten competition. But that time, it seems, is over.

.@JacksonDestoo is HUNGRY 🔥 pic.twitter.com/79lHUwBWdM
— Illinois Women's Basketball (@IlliniWBB) February 8, 2026

In the Illini's first 19 games, Jackson cracked double-digits scoring only four times – and twice only just so (10 points). But after Sunday, she has now scored at least 11 points in each of the past five games. During that initial stretch, Jackson averaged 7.9 points on 38.5 percent field-goal shooting. Since? She is scoring 13.8 points per game on 45.1 percent shooting. Jackson is attacking the rim more often, gradually taking on more of the offensive load as others have struggled or been missing from the lineup. It won't happen overnight, but if she can sharpen that jumper (26.1 percent on threes), Jackson is a future Big Ten Player of the Year candidate.

2. Illinois' long-range shooting has been crippling

Three-point shooting wasn't expected to be the strength of this Illini team, but even their middling efficiency from beyond the arc has bottomed out – and it's no coincidence that Illinois has gone 2-5 in its past seven games. Over that stretch, the Illini are averaging just 5.0 threes and on 29.9 percent shooting. Compare that to their numbers through the first 17 games: 5.9 threes on 34.6 percent shooting.

If that sounds negligible, you should have watched how USC was able to clamp down on Berry Wallace, who entered the game averaging 19.4 points but was knocked around inside, routinely shot into a tangle of Trojan arms and held to 10 points on 4-for-17 shooting. Some of that had to do with her own struggles (1-for-6 on threes) and USC's size at guard. But with minimal concern for Illinois' spacing, the Trojans consistently made things tough on any Illini who ventured into the paint Sunday.

MONSTER BLOCK IN THE CLUTCH FROM KEN

📺 B1G+ pic.twitter.com/FdsoKK2mpD
— USC Women's Basketball (@USCWBB) February 8, 2026

3. Matchups may be an ongoing problem for the Illini

Illinois has loaded its roster with more size and speed than it has been able to access in recent years – but it still lacks the personnel to match up with both at once. USC's big, athletic guards gave the Illini fits Sunday, not only around the rim but also in aggressively attacking pick-and-roll actions on the perimeter. Jackson and Aaliyah Guyton will improve at making reads and creating out of those situations over time. (Guyton got it done in the clip below.) But at 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-7, respectively, there will always be – on both sides of the ball – physical limitations to overcome against opponents like Trojans 6-footers Jazzy Davidson and Kennedy Smith on the perimeter.

.@aguyton11 made this one happen! pic.twitter.com/LRAmFeis1Z
— Illinois Women's Basketball (@IlliniWBB) February 8, 2026

In the meantime, coach Shauna Green may want to nudge her Illini toward certain areas that could be developed as greater strengths, including transition opportunities and a defensive press (both of which benefitted Illinois against USC, especially during that fourth-quarter surge). And it may be time to find more burn for freshman forward Naomi Benson, who had four rebounds in seven minutes against the Trojans and, at 6-foot-2, has the combination of size, strength and athleticism to take on some of the Big Ten's most dynamic frontcourt players.