Illinois Fighting Illini vs Nebraska Cornhuskers

BIG TEN WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT - 1st ROUND

7-22, 3-13 Big Ten

Final

	1	2	3	4	T
Nebraska NEB	14	18	29	9	70
Illinois ILL	22	14	20	23	79

Illinois Fighting IlliniIllinoisILL

9-21, 3-13 Big Ten

Trio of freshman lead Illinois women to win in tournament

Mar 2, 2017, 07:44 am

INDIANAPOLIS -- Ali Andrews had career highs with 24 points and six 3-pointers, leading three Illinois freshman who reached 20 points, and the No. 12-seeded Illini beat No. 13 seed Nebraska 79-70 on Wednesday in the Big Ten Tournament opener.

Petra Holesinska added a career-tying 21 points and Brandi Beasley 20 for Illinois (9-21), who play No. 5 seed Purdue on Thursday.

Trailing by five, Illinois outscored Nebraska 23-9 in the fourth quarter, taking the lead for good on Andrews' final 3-pointer with 5 1/2 minutes left.

Illinois snapped an 11-game losing streak, its previous win also coming against Nebraska on Jan. 15. The victory was the first for Illinois in the tournament since 2011.

Jessica Shepard had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Hannah Whitish 16 points for the Cornhuskers (7-22).

Illinois made 14 3-pointers and Nebraska 13 but the Illini were 17 of 22 from the free-throw line to 3 of 7 for the Cornhuskers. Nebraska also had 17 turnovers to Illinois' five.

Game Information

Indianapolis, IN

Referee:Tina Napier

Referee:Lisa Mattingly

Referee:Brian Hall

NCAA Division I

Big Ten Conference	CONF	GB	OVR
UCLA	18-0	-	37-1
Michigan	15-3	3	28-7
Iowa	15-3	3	27-7
Ohio State	13-5	5	27-8
Minnesota	13-5	5	24-9
Maryland	11-7	7	24-9
Michigan State	11-7	7	23-9
Washington	10-8	8	22-11
Illinois	9-9	9	22-12
USC	9-9	9	18-14
Oregon	8-10	10	23-13
Nebraska	7-11	11	19-13
Indiana	6-12	12	18-14
Wisconsin	5-13	13	16-18
Purdue	5-13	13	13-17
Penn State	4-14	14	11-18
Northwestern	2-16	16	8-21
Rutgers	1-17	17	9-20

Women's College Basketball News

NCAA women's tourney to seed top 16 by true ranking in 2027

Beginning with next year's NCAA women's basketball tournament, the top 16 teams will be placed in the bracket in their true ranking regardless of conference affiliation.

Group of 11 athletes challenge new NCAA eligibility rules in suit

Eleven Division I athletes -- all who depleted their eligibility in the 2025-26 season, have filed a federal class action lawsuit alleging that the NCAA's new eligibility rules adversely affected their ability to extend their college careers.

12h

Sources: Michigan regents to discuss investigation Thursday

The University of Michigan regents are expected to discuss an investigation into the culture of its athletic department on Thursday, sources told ESPN, and as part of the review, a decision on the future of AD Warde Manuel is expected in the coming days.

14h

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