No. 14 Indiana Falls at Illinois 86-66 After Disastrous Second Quarter in Parrish's Return

No. 14 Indiana women's basketball (21-4, 12-3) traveled to play Illinois (13-12, 7-8) Monday afternoon and lost by 20 points. The Illini used a big second quarter to drive the win.

In Sydney Parrish’s return after missing seven games with an injury, No. 14 Indiana women’s basketball was blown out by unranked Illinois 86-66 Monday afternoon. The Hoosiers trailed by one point after the first quarter but were outscored 26-11 in the second and put themselves in a deep hole. Illinois ran up the score with 15 free throws in the final three minutes.

“We got bullied all afternoon,” Indiana head coach Teri Moren said postgame. “We were playing catch up for most of the game. The second quarter was just awful for us, and like I said, give Illinois all the credit. They came out and did a great job, did not back down. They’re a hard matchup for us, always have been and so yeah, we're very, very, very disappointed.”

By halftime, the Hoosiers trailed 44-28. Mackenzie Holmes led Indiana with 15 points and had 24 total, but the Illini commanded the paint. That’s where they scored 22 of their 26 second-quarter points to pull away. Illinois’ Adalia McKenzie, who scored 18 points in the recent win over Penn State, scored 10 points in the second quarter alone. 

McKenzie was the only Illini in double figures within the first 20 minutes. Yet, all teammates had made three or more shots with six or more points. For Indiana, Holmes was the only Hoosier in double figures. But no other Hoosiers had scored five besides Yarden Garzon. Illinois built its lead without even hitting threes. It went 1-for-4 in the first half.

“We couldn't keep them in front of us,” Moren said. “And then we didn't have any great rim protection with our bigs. When you play a team like this, you gotta be connected. You gotta help each other. You got to really be in the spots to show some gaps. We call it show some bodies … We just did a poor job. I don’t have any other reason other than we were not good.”

Indiana’s last possession in the third quarter killed a potential comeback. With 36 seconds left, the Illini scored to lead 61-47. The Hoosiers could put up the last shot, stop the ball with minimal time, and have good momentum. Instead, Parrish’s under-the-basket wraparound pass was intercepted. Illinois didn’t score in those last 20 seconds, but it hurt Indiana badly.

The Hoosiers committed 14 turnovers and Illinois only posted five.

“I don’t take losing very well,” Holmes said postgame, with tears forming. “Only have a few games left in the regular season, so we gotta figure it out … We gotta figure out how to come from behind. I got to be better at protecting the rim. It’s just, you know, I’m not a good loser.”

Sara Scalia made her second 3-pointer of the game to open the fourth quarter, and Indiana came as close as eight points with three minutes to go. But Illinois’ 15-3 run for the rest of the game sealed it. On New Year’s Eve, Indiana beat Illinois at home by six points. The Illini got their revenge by 14. Like that December game, Makira Cook led the Illini with 22 points.

The Hoosiers, now 12-3 and third in the Big Ten, welcome No. 4 Iowa on Thursday night.

Related Stories on Indiana Women's Basketball 

• SARA SCALIA BREAKS 3-POINT RECORD: Fifth-year Hoosier guard Sara Scalia made four 3-pointers, which was just enough to break the Indiana single-season record. CLICK HERE
• WATCH: MACKENZIE HOLMES BREAKS SCORING RECORD: Here are three videos on Mackenzie Holmes breaking Indiana's all-time scoring record Sunday. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA-PURDUE GAME STORY, HOLMES BREAKS RECORD: Mackenzie Holmes needed 17 points to pass Tyra Buss as the program's all-time scoring leader and she hit that number precisely. CLICK HERE
• WATCH: ASSEMBLY HALL CELEBRATES MOORE-MCNEIL'S TRIPLE-DOUBLE: In the final moments, Moore-McNeil grabbed her 10th rebound and made both free throws for a triple-double. CLICK HERE to watch the video of the celebration.