SEATTLE — The No. 25 Washington Huskies women's basketball team was unable to ring in the new month off strong and fell 75-66 to the Illinois Fighting Illini on Sunday at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.

The Dawgs dropped to 17-5 overall this season with a 7-4 mark in Big Ten play.

"Wasn't our best day," UW head coach Tina Langley said after the game. "And we want to give credit to Illinois for that. I thought they played really well. Really tough, connected basketball. I think we'll learn a lot from this game."

The Huskies, who entered Sunday winners of five-straight games, began the game on a strong note, albeit not without push-back from the Fighting Illini.

Washington broke out to a 6-2 lead with eight minutes, five seconds in the first quarter. After that put, Illinois went on a 7-0 run to take the lead. The Dawgs promptly responded with a 6-0 run of their own right to take the reins back.

The two sides continued to exchange blows and the Huskies ended up holding the lead after the first 10 minutes and went into the second quarter up 16-15.

The second quarter proved to be the difference in the game.

The Fighting Illini had a 7-0 run and an 8-0 run in the second quarter, respectively. The Huskies only had one run from 6:47 to 5:56 left in the first half where they scored multiple baskets in a row uninterrupted.

Illinois went into halftime with a 37-29 advantage over Washington.

"I just don't think we got any stops in the second quarter," Huskies junior guard Sayvia Sellers said after the game. "On the baseline, out of bounds, they executed at a high level. Their half-court sets, they had great execution and we just didn't defend them well."

In the second half, the Huskies remained within striking distance of the Fighting Illini but were unable to make one last run to retake the lead.

In the third quarter, Washington cut its deficit down to six with 6:37 left in the period. Illinois responded with an 8-0 run to go up by 14. When the fourth quarter began, the Dawgs trailed 51-40.

In the fourth quarter, the Fighting Illini bolstered their advantage back to 13 to begin the frame. The Huskies got within six several times but were unable to go on the necessary run to take back control against their Big Ten opponents.

Illinois truly managed to separate from Washington via a dominant performance on the boards and capitalizing on mistakes.

The Fighting Illini out-rebounded the Huskies 33-to-24 (14-to-5 on offensive rebounds), scored 26 second-chance points to UW's six and and scored 17 points off turnovers to the Dawgs' eight.

Sellers and sophomore guard Avery Howell led the way for Washington with 17 points respectively. Sellers added four assists, two rebounds, three blocks and a steal.

Howell brought in seven rebounds, blocked two shots and swiped a steal.

"(I'm) just trying to do whatever our team needs," Howell said after the game. "Trying to have that fire might help people around me get that fire and just play super competitive and aggressive. I think most games it's just trying to fill in spots, whatever the team needs from me."

The Huskies will next be in action against the No. 11 Ohio State Buckeyes at 6 p.m. PT on Feb. 5 at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.

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