With Big Ten tournament positioning at stake, MSU focused on IL

Although it’s unusual it was only 1-0 – when’s the last team those two teams combined for just one goal?

Normally, at this point in the season, there’s at least one Big Ten team emerging as a candidate to win the national championship. Unlike the previous game, in which IL won by 20 points, both teams traded runs until the Illini were finally able to pull away. She was also one of three Illini freshmen who eclipsed the 20-point mark.

But there has not been a fourth victory.

Nebraska had won two of its previous three games entering the tournament and wanted to continue that momentum. IL improved to 9-21 overall, while 13th-seeded Nebraska closed the season at 7-22 and 3-13 in the Big Ten. The Wildcats were ranked second among the others receiving votes last Monday, but they responded with losses at IL and Indiana.

“We’re excited to see where we can go”, Bollant said.

Nebraska sophomore Jessica Shepard earned All-Big Ten honors for the second straight season, claiming spots on the second team by both the coaches and Big Ten media when conference honors were announced on the BTN Women’s Sports Report on Monday afternoon.

Purdue ended up beating IN on Tuesday night to eliminate the Spartans from winning the conference regular season crown.

“I feel like guys are peaking, and people are really figuring out what they do best and what they do well”. “It will be a great first test for us”.

9 Seed – Illinois – The Fighting Illini are also making a late push and a win over Michigan State tonight or a win Saturday at Rutgers locks them away from Wednesday. “I think we just weren’t in sync there in that last five minutes of the game”.

“We have some players that have started to play with a lot more confidence”, Williams said. “We were pushing a little bit and kind of waiting for the big play, and it just never really came”.

Williams took over at Nebraska after a successful run at South Dakota. “We got to make sure they understand the difference”.

After squandering a 16-point lead earlier in the game, Bollant was pleased with his team’s poise down the stretch.

But in a game of drastic scoring swings, the 12th-seeded Illini closed the game on a 10-2 surge to secure the win and advance to Thursday’s second round to face No. 5 seed Purdue.

“It’s Nebraska only”, he said. Minnesota has the tiebreaker over them (1-1 head-to-head, but since Minnesota beat Purdue that gives them an edge).

IL hit 37.5 percent (12-32) of its first-half shots, including 7-of-16 threes (.438). There will be jitters.