The University of Illinois Fighting Illini women’s basketball team ended its 2025-26 season with a 75-57 defeat against No. 6 Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament Second Round on March 23 at Memorial Gymnasium.
This marks the second consecutive year that Illinois advanced to the tournament’s second round, closing out a campaign with a 22-12 record under fourth-year head coach Shauna Green. The program continues to compete in NCAA Division I within the Big Ten Conference, according to the official website.
Berry Wallace led Illinois with 18 points and nine rebounds, reaching double figures for her last 24 games and finishing sixth on Illinois’ single-season scoring list with 626 points. Cearah Parchment contributed 12 points and eight rebounds, adding to her freshman scoring and rebounding records. Jasmine Brown-Hagger also scored in double digits with 12 points, while Destiny Jackson set a new single-season assists record for Illinois by surpassing Michele Vossen’s previous mark from the early eighties.
Illinois forced Vanderbilt into committing nineteen turnovers and collected twenty-two offensive rebounds, which resulted in twenty-one second-chance points. Three players—Wallace, Parchment, and Brown-Hagger—scored in double figures during the game. The Illini also outscored their opponent in paint points but ultimately could not overcome an early deficit after trailing by thirteen at halftime.
The Fighting Illini women’s basketball program operates from Champaign-Urbana, Illinois as part of its efforts to enhance athletic heritage at the university and assist student-athletes balancing academics and athletics while upholding traditions of excellence according to information provided by their official website (https://fightingillini.com/sports/womens-basketball).
Coach Green now holds an overall record of eighty-five wins and forty-seven losses at Illinois. The team finishes this season having played both conference and non-conference opponents throughout their schedule as reported by their official website.
Illinois concludes this year’s tournament appearance with an all-time record of ten wins and eleven losses in NCAA Tournament play.
