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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 5: Kennedy Blair #35 of the Michigan State Spartans goes to the basket against Maddie Webber #34 of the Illinois Fighting Illini during the first half of the second round of the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on March 5, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) | Getty Images
A monster effort from Kennedy Blair was not enough to save Michigan State tonight. Despite 30 points from Blair and a fourth quarter rally, the 7th-seeded Spartans fell 71-69 to #10 Illinois in their opening – and now only – game of the Big Ten tournament.
The game started well enough for Michigan State. They led 6-0 after two minutes and then 17-12 with 2:11 remaining in the first quarter. But an 8-0 run had the Illini up at the end of the first quarter as the Spartans finished the opening 10 minutes by shooting just 6-15 while also committing 7 turnovers.
Illinois was able to extend the lead to 36-29 by halftime as shooting became an even bigger issue for the Spartans. MSU finished the half 11-30 and 0-7 on three pointers. Illinois, meanwhile, hit 50% from the field and 3-6 on their three point attempts.
Illinois’ Cearah Parchment led all scorers with 15 at the break while Blair was up to 14 at the halfway mark. Both leading scorers were 5-7 from the floor at that point. Blair, unfortunately, wasn’t getting a lot of help as Grace VanSlooten was next with 5 points and only five different Spartans scored in the first half. That trend would continue to the end of the game.
The Fighting Illini grew their lead to to as much as eight in third quarter before the Spartans got going again with a putback from VanSlooten sparking an MSU run. VanSlooten’s bucket was followed by a triple from Jalyn Brown, and then a Blair fast break layup. Two free throws from Ines Sotelo gave Michigan State their first lead since the first quarter at 42-41 with 5:32 left in the third quarter.
It wouldn’t last.
After a three from Jasmine Brown-Hagger, Illinois was back up 48-44 and the Illini extended it to a 53-48 advantage by the end of the third quarter.
As they did coming out of the first and second quarter break, Illinois continued to grow the lead in the fourth quarter, which got as high as 63-54 with 5:39 remaining in the game.
The Spartans would claw back again from there but could never get back in front. A Blair three got MSU within five with 4:39 left. A jumper from Maddie Webber had Illinois back up seven with 3:43 left but the Spartans wouldn’t go away.
Michigan State got within a bucket three times in the last two minutes but that was as close as it would be.
A Sotelo layup got the Spartans within two, at 71-69, with 32 seconds left but that would end the scoring. After Sotelo’s bucket, MSU got the stop they needed on the defensive end by turning Illinois over with 20 seconds to go. VanSlooten couldn’t get a layup to go but Michigan State got the offensive rebound and called timeout with nine seconds left.
The Spartans’ couldn’t get a shot off after the timeout as Blair, who had carried MSU all night, turned it over for the seventh time with one second left, which sent Michigan State home.
Three point shooting continued to be advantageous for Illinois as they finished 6-14 while MSU was just 3-12. The Spartans led in several other statistical categories including rebounding and points in the paint but it wasn’t quite enough to overcome the shooting woes.
Parchment finished with the 15 she had at halftime to lead Illinois and was one of five Illini players in double figures. Blair finished 11-18 from the field on the way to her career high 30 while also adding six boards and five assists in 37 minutes. VanSlooten added 13 and Brown 12 but only three other Spartans added a total of 14 points.
MSU, who now sits at 22-8 after dropping their last two, will have to wait to learn their NCAA Tournament fate. Unfortunately, with this loss, the Spartans may have also lost an opportunity to host the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament, where a top-16 seed would be necessary. MSU was hovering in the 14-16 range before dropping their last regular season game to Ohio State and this loss to the Illini tonight.
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