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Maddie Webber added 13 for the Illini (21-10), Jasmine Brown-Hagger
scored 12 and Berry Wallace finished with 11. Illinois will move
on to the quarterfinals to play No. 2 seed Iowa.
The Spartans (22-8), who are ranked No. 18 in the country, were
led by Kennedy Blair, who scored a career-high 30 points. Grace
VanSlooten scored 13, and Jalyn Brown added 12.
Illinois turned over the ball on its first four possessions of
the game, forcing a timeout to reset. An 8-0 run gave the
Fighting Illini their first lead of the game at the end of the
first quarter, and they led 36-29 heading into the break.
Michigan State had a 9-0 run after the break to regain the lead,
42-41, but a layup and a 3-pointer from Brown-Hagger gave the
advantage back to Illinois.
On the Spartans’ final possession of the game, VanSlooten
collected two rebounds from under the basket before kicking it
back out to Blair in the midrange. Without a clear shot, she
passed it out wide to Brown, who couldn't save the ball from
going out of bounds with a second to go in the game.
Up next
Illinois: Will face No. 2 seed Iowa on March 6. The Hawkeyes are
ranked No. 9 in the country.
Michigan: Will wait for an invitation to a postseason
tournament.
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