Illinois used a surge in the second and third quarters to secure a 20-point victory over the last place squad in the Big Ten Conference.

February 17, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — After managing the first 10 minutes of their opponent trying to bleed clock time and physically muck up the basketball game, Illinois managed to secure second straight 20-point blowout win in front of the home crowd.

Illinois outscored Rutgers 46-21 in the second and third quarters of a 76-56 victory for the Illini over the last place squad in the Big Ten Conference.

After struggling to find her offensive rhythm following a broken nose injury requiring her to be fitted for a protective facemask, Berry Wallace had 21 points on 9 of 18 shooting from the field and in a physical game in the paint, the sophomore forward contributed nine rebounds in 32 minutes. Wallace was 4 of 17 from the field in a home loss to Southern California on Feb. 8 but in back-to-back victories over Wisconsin and Rutgers, the 2024 McDonald's All American has hit 14 of 25 shots and had 15 second-half points on Tuesday night.

Cearah Parchment had her 10th double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds in a 32-minute effort that also included four assists and four steals.

Rutgers (9-17, 1-14 in Big Ten Conference play) ended the game with just 21 field goals and 18 turnovers, which tied the most created by the Illini in a Big Ten game this season. Rutgers’ slow-down style and physical play near the basket took a full quarter for the Illini to adjust to but the Scarlett Knights were 9 of 27 from the field in the second and third quarters while Illinois muscled their way to 30 points in the paint in that 20-minute stretch.

After making all six attempts from beyond the arc in the 32-point win over Wisconsin, second-year guard Aaliyah Guyton connected on 3 of 7 from three-point range on Tuesday night as the transfer from Iowa is suddenly shooting over 40 percent from long range.

Illinois head coach Shauna Green maintained her 5-0 undefeated record against Rutgers as she obtained her 51st victory inside State Farm Center.

Illinois (18-8, 8-7 in Big Ten Conference play) will complete a home-and-road two-game stretch of opponents near the bottom of the league as they face Northwestern in Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday, which will be the second-to-last home game for Wildcats head coach Joe McKeown, who was Green’s boss at Northwestern from 2015-16.