CHAMPAIGN – Fighting Illini junior Alex Wittinger led Illinois with 20 points and eight rebounds on Sunday afternoon earning her fourth 20-plus point game this season. Despite Wittinger's performance, the Illini fell to Purdue, 73-54, in a hard-fought battle. Illinois moves to 9-16 on the season and 0-11 in league play.
"Purdue is known for their 1-2-2 matchup and we were matching up," head coach Nancy Fahey said. "I was initially hoping that we would dribble penetrate at those gaps. Instead, we ended up changing into a different offense, which didn't matchup as well, and I think we gave them a little bit more difficulty. That's when we started making our run in the second quarter."
Wittinger and redshirt senior Kennedy Cattenhead combined for Illinois' first eight points of the contest as UI kept things close to open the game. The Boilermakers used a 14-0 run to close the first quarter and jump ahead of the Illini.
Cattenhead was first to score in the second quarter, stopping the Purdue run and cutting into the Boilermakers' lead. The Illini picked up momentum in the second frame, going on an 11-2 run to close the half and cut Purdue's lead to just eight at 31-23. Wittinger contributed eight of those 11 points for the Illini, and led all scorers with 12 points at halftime. Illinois held Purdue scoreless for almost five minutes in the second quarter, also holding the opponents to 25-percent shooting.
Illinois shot 53.8-percent in the second quarter, knocking down 37.9 percent of its first-half shots. The Boilermakers scored four points off of nine Illini turnovers, but Illinois capitalized with six second chance points.
The Illini and the Boilermakers traded buckets throughout the third quarter as the Orange and Blue pressured to close the gap. Purdue shot 75-percent in the quarter to keep its advantage, but the redshirt sophomore Cierra Rice combined with sophomore Petra Holešínská to lead Illinois before the final frame. Rice knocked down two three-pointers in the quarter, while Holešínská added five points of her own.
Freshman Lyric Robins added all four of her points in the final frame as the Illini continued to fight. Freshman Cydnee Kinslow matched her career-high as she led the Illini with three rebounds in the quarter. Purdue worked to grow its lead, using a 10-0 run to pull away. The Orange and Blue responded, closing the game on an 8-2 run, but it wasn't enough to catch the Boilermakers.
The Illini shot 36.7-percent from the floor on Sunday, facing 51.7-percent shooting from the Boilermakers. Purdue took advantage of Illinois turnovers, scoring 16 points off of 16 miscues, but Illinois held the Purdue bench to just seven points in the game, the fewest by an Illini opponent since the Memphis bench was held scoreless on December 3, 2017.
"We have to live in the moment," Fahey said. "The moment is now, playing Indiana. People can talk about our record, we're very aware of what's going on here. But if you get caught up in that and don't get caught up in what the next game is, you might as well pack it in, and we're not gonna pack it in. The message after the game is live in the moment. The moment is practice on Tuesday and Wednesday and let's play another game. If you get ahead of yourself that's when it really starts tumbling apart. I think if you were in our practices, you'd be surprised at the energy level this team has; I think it's very unique. Our world right now is tough, we have to be tougher and that's all we keep doing."
Next up, Illinois will travel to Indiana, facing the Hoosiers on Feb. 8 at 6 p.m. CT. Stay tuned to FightingIllini.com for the latest on Illinois women's basketball.
