Big Ten Tournament: Illinois fades late in a 74-70 loss to Nebraska in the second round

Freshman Britt Prince scored 17 points, and No. 10 seed Nebraska rallied for a 74-70 victory over seventh-seeded Illinois in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday night in Indianapolis.

The Cornhuskers outscored the Illini 25-14 in the fourth quarter and closed with a 13-5 run to pick up their fifth win after trailing by 10-plus points.

Prince hit consecutive jumpers to tie the game at 65 with 2 minutes, 23 seconds to play, and Jessica Petrie drilled a 3-pointer to give the Cornhuskers the lead, their first of the fourth quarter, with 1:40 left.

After two Illini free throws, Nebraska had a three-shot possession, getting a clutch layup from Petrie off an inbounds pass from Prince. Callin Hake and Prince followed with two free throws each to make it 74-67.

Nebraska (21-11) faces second-seeded and No. 4 UCLA on Friday in the quarterfinals. The Bruins won the regular-season meeting 91-54 in December.

Genesis Bryant led Illinois (21-9) with 20 points, Kendall Bostic added 19 and Adalia McKenzie had 16 and 10 assists. Illinois scored the first nine points of the game and led 32-30 at the half behind Bostic’s 16 points.

Prince hit a 3-pointer early in the second half to give Nebraska its first lead at 38-37, but after six lead changes Illinois took a 56-49 lead into the fourth.

Michigan 66, Washington 58

Olivia Olson scored 21 points, fellow freshman Syla Swords added 15 and No. 5 seed Michigan beat No. 12 seed Washington in the second round to end the Huskies’ five-game winning streak.

Michigan (21-9) advances to play No. 4 seed and 15th-ranked Maryland on Friday in the quarterfinals. The Wolverines lost 85-77 to the Terrapins on Feb. 17. Michigan reached the semifinals last year, marking the first time it had done so since back-to-back appearances in 2019 and 2020.

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Olson opened and closed a 13-0 third-quarter run to give Michigan a 49-39 lead with 3 minutes, 1 second remaining in the frame. She scored nine points during the run, while Washington missed nine straight shots.

Elle Ladine sank a 3-pointer from the corner with 1:56 left to pull Washington within 63-56. The Huskies forced turnovers on Michigan’s next two possessions, but Hannah Stines missed a jumper and Teagan Brown was off on a 3-point attempt with less than a minute to go.

Dalayah Daniels led Washington (19-13) with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Ladine added 16 points.

Michigan scored 24 points off 17 turnovers.

Indiana 78, Oregon 62

Yarden Garzon scored 18 points and Shay Ciezki had 17 as No. 9 seed Indiana topped eighth-seeded Oregon. The Hoosiers advance to Friday’s quarterfinals against second-ranked and top-seeded USC. The Trojans won 73-66 at Indiana on Jan. 19.

Chloe Moore-McNeil added 13 points for the Hoosiers (19-11) and fifth-year senior Sydney Parrish, an Indiana native who spent her first two years at Oregon, had 10. Indiana went 11 of 25 from 3-point range, improving to 9-0 when hitting at least eight.

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Peyton Scott had 16 points to lead the Ducks (19-11), who won the regular-season meeting at home 54-47. Ehis Etute added 14 points. Oregon had 18 turnovers that were converted into 20 points.

Ciezki hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 points in the first quarter as Indiana hit five 3s and led 23-11. The lead stayed in double figures for all but a minute in the second quarter, and the Hoosiers led 40-30 at the break.

The Ducks battled back, pulling within six twice and five in the closing minute when Sarah Rambus hit a jumper to make in 53-48. But like the early threats, the Hoosiers answered with a 3-pointer.

A 13-0 run in the fourth quarter blew it open.


Big Ten Tournament

Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis

Wednesday’s games

(12) Washington 79, (13) Minnesota 65
(10) Nebraska 84, (15) Rutgers 60
(11) Iowa 81, (14) Wisconsin 54

Thursday’s games

(9) Indiana 78, (8) Oregon 62
(5) Michigan 66, Washington 58
Nebraska 74, (7) Illinois 70
(6) Michigan State vs. Iowa, 8 p.m. BTN

Friday’s quarterfinals

(1) USC vs. (9) Indiana, 11 a.m., BTN
(4) Maryland vs. Michigan, 1:30 p.m., BTN
(2) UCLA vs. Nebraska, 5:30 p.m., BTN
(3) Ohio State vs. Michigan State/Iowa, 8 p.m., BTN

Saturday’s semifinals

2 and 4:30 p.m., BTN

Sunday’s final

3:30 p.m., CBS-2

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