CHAMPAGNE, Ill. — Berry Wallace scored a career-high 29 points, 12 in the fourth quarter, and No. 25 Illinois held off a fourth-quarter rally to defeat Northwestern 74-71 on Sunday.
Illinois took the lead for good with 2 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter and led 58-51 heading to the fourth. Although the Illini remained in front, the Wildcats cut it to one on a 3-pointer by Xamiya Walton with seven minutes to go and again on a layup by Casey Harter with 2:15 remaining.
At that point, Wallace scored in the paint for a 73-70 lead, then Tayla Thomas hit one free throw to get Northwestern within 73-71. Both teams came up empty on their next two possessions before Cearah Parchment made a free throw for a 74-71 lead with nine seconds left. Northwestern’s Caroline Lau missed a potential tying 3-pointer with one second left.
Parchment had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the fourth double-double of her freshman season. Aaliyah Guyton had 13 points for the Illini (15-4, 5-3 Big Ten).
Grace Sullivan scored 21 points, Walton had 19, Harter had 13 and Lau had 12 for Northwestern (8-11, 2-6). The rest of the Wildcats managed six points — all by Thomas.
There were four ties and seven lead changes in the first half. Illinois scored the last 12 points of the second quarter to erase a five-point deficit and the Illini led 40-33 at halftime.
Illinois outscored the Wildcats 11-2 in a 3 1/2-minute stretch of the third quarter, building a 58-43 lead. Three-pointers by Harter and Walton helped Northwestern get within 58-51 heading to the fourth.
There were only 13 turnovers in the game, five by Northwestern and eight by Illinois.
Illinois has won seven straight in the series after losing the previous 14.
Up next
Illinois: The Illini play Saturday at No. 24 Nebraska.
Northwestern: The Wildcats host No. 3 UCLA next Sunday.