By IlliniGuys Staff

March 23, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Two-time All-American Mikayla Blakes barely missed a triple-double, but it was more than enough to lead 2-seed Vanderbilt to a 75-57 win over Illinois Monday night in NCAA Tournament play.

The victory means the Commodores (29-4) will advance to the regional semifinals for the first time since 2009.

The 7th-seeded Illini (22-12) were aiming for their first Sweet 16 bid since 1998, but couldn't overcome cold shooting for most of the night. Illinois shot just 30% from the field and managed to connect on only 3-of-23 shots from beyond the arc, continuing their postseason struggles. After hitting nearly 38% from three-point range during the regular season, the Illini cooled off to 25% (20-of-92) in the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments.

Their overall shooting woes started early. After Aaliyah Guyton's driving layup closed Illinois to within 7-6, the Illini then went ice cold, missing 16 shots in a row until Maddie Webber stepped off the bench to drain a three-pointer and end a field goal drought that lasted nearly eight and a half minutes. Illinois trailed 23-13 and, after falling behind by as much as 15 points, were on the short end at halftime at 36-25.

Illinois managed to close within single digits at 40-31, but the Commodores put on a shooting display that included draining four three-pointers in a row. Blakes scored 10 of her 25 points in the third quarter to extend her own school single-season scoring record while setting the NCAA mark for most points by a sophomore with 892. The nation's leading scorer at 27 points per game, Blakes added 10 rebounds and nine assists to finish out her night.

The Illini were led by Berry Wallace's 18 points. The sophomore played all 40 minutes and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Cearah Parchment tallied 12 points and eight rebounds while Jasmine Brown-Hagger scored eight of her 12 points in the fourth quarter.

Illinois now looks ahead to the offseason on the strength of their first back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances - and first wins in consecutive NCAA tournaments - in 26 years. Nearly everyone is eligible to return next year and coach Shauna Green looks to have international stars Manuella Alves and Erica Finney begin their collegiate careers after both suffered knee injuries just prior to the start of the regular season. Shooting guard Gretchen Dolan, the team's third leading scorer at 13 points per game, will return as well after seeing her season cut short due to injury for the second year in a row.