Illinois Hands Northwestern Women's Basketball Ninth Straight Loss, 92-65

Our Northwestern Wildcats women's basketball team got so pulverized on Sunday, in large part by a pair of Fighting Illini freshmen, that their Big Ten clash against the University of Illinois was essentially over by halftime.

After a 27-17 run in the opening quarter, Illinois built out a massive edge thanks to strong transition play and 3-point shooting. A scoring barrage from the Fighting Illini built their lead to 24 points, 57-33, by the break.

"Illinois went on a run," head coach Joe McKeown reflected in his postgame presser, per Inside NU. "We just couldn't score in the first quarter ....and then all of a sudden after the eighth or ninth 3 they hit, we couldn't get back (in the game)."

Illinois badly outshot Northwestern by the end of the contest. The Fighting Illini went 12-of-18 from distance, led by first-year forward Cearah Parchment's 3-of-3 shooting from that range and sophomore forward Berry Wallace's 4-of-6 sniping from distance. The 'Cats, meanwhile, shot a still-good-but-less-prolific 5-of-11 from deep. Sophomores Tayla Thomas and Xamiya Walton chipped in two triples each.

Thomas submitted a superlative individual game Sunday, at least. The 6-foot-3 forward scored a game-high 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field (2-of-4 from distance) and 7-of-8 free throw shooting, along with six rebounds, two blocks, one assist and a steal. It marked her 11th game scoring in double figures.

T-Time 💪

Thomas goes into double figures for the 11th time this season! pic.twitter.com/Etf6EtjZVu
— Northwestern Women’s Basketball (@nuwbball) February 22, 2026

"I thought she played one of her best games since she's been here," McKeown raved, via Inside NU.

The Fighting Illini were paced by a pair of freshmen, guard Destiny Jackson and Parchment, who each notched 19 points on 8-of-12 and 8-of-13 shooting from the floor, respectively.

"Illinois' offense took us out tonight," McKeown said, according to Inside NU. "We had to work for everything. Today, we were scrambling from behind the whole game."

Illinois put the finishing touches on Northwestern during the second half, ultimately win by a 92-65 margin.

With the victory, the Illini improve to a 19-7 record (9-7 in the Big Ten). Northwestern drops to 8-19 on the year (2-14 in the conference). Hopefully, the Wildcats can end the streak before it hits double digits against No. 15 Maryland on Wednesday. But... probably not.

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