5 Illinois basketball (W) observations from the pull-away win over Detroit Mercy

Game one is in the books, and the women’s Illinois basketball team has started on the right foot.

The Illini came into the matchup with Detroit Mercy ranked No. 23 in the country. This high ranking has the hype train going at full speed.

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Early on, it didn’t look like Illinois was the No. 23 team in the country, though. Detroit Mercy was forcing turnovers, and they kept the game close. Thankfully, Illinois snapped out of the funk.

A four-point halftime advantage for the Orange and Blue turned into a 34-point thumping. Illinois won the second half by 30 points, coming out with a victory over Detroit Mercy, 84-50.

Here are 5 Illinois basketball observations from the pull-away win over Detroit Mercy

1. Detroit Mercy had clearly played a game before Illinois

The final score indicates that this game was a blowout, but that wasn’t the case for the first half of play.

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Detroit Mercy was putting up a fight. Illinois got out to a double-digit lead, but the Titans fought back and got the halftime margin to just four points, 36-32.

Illinois was clearly the better team, but rust was showing throughout the first 20 minutes of action. You could tell that Detroit Mercy was coming into this contest having already played a game and had their legs under them.

The Illini were pretty sloppy early on. They turned the ball over a lot, and they weren’t in sync. The Titans were the opposite. They fed off Illinois’ issues, and when the Illini would struggle to communicate on defense, they would make shots.

In the second half, everything changed. The rust wore off, and they put the game away early. The second half is exactly what I wanted to see.

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2. Illinois has such a dangerous frontcourt

We all knew the Illini had a ton of talent coming into the season. The frontcourt blew me away on Wednesday night, though.

The combination of Berry Wallace and Cearah Parchment isn’t just one of the best frontcourt duos in the Big Ten, but you would be hard-pressed to find a better…

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Publish date : 2026-11-05 02:32:00

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