Nov. 28, 2010
Box Score
HONOLULU - The Fighting Illini were dominating early, leading by as many as 14 late in the first half, but Ole Miss used a big second half to pull away for a 70-61 win in the third place game of the Waikiki Beach Marriott Rainbow Wahine Showdown Sunday afternoon in Honolulu. Sophomore Karisma Penn had 24 points and a career-high 14 rebounds for the Fighting Illini, who fall to 3-4 on the season.
The Illinois defense was stifling to start the game, holding Rebels to just two points and 1-11 shooting over the first 7:41 of play. The Illini led 9-2 at that point and later pulled out to a 24-10 lead after a free throw by Centrese McGee with 5:47 left in the half. Ole Miss (5-2) would then go on a 13-2 run over the next five minutes to pull within three before a jumper by Eboni Mitchell just before the end of the half gave the Illini a 28-23 lead at the break.
Illinois still led 33-28 early in the second after a jumper by Penn with 17 minutes left, but the Rebels would go on a decisive 16-5 run over the next 4:11, including three-straight three-pointers by Valencia McFarland, to take a 44-38 lead with 12:50 to play. The Orange and Blue battled back to take a brief 50-49 lead after another Penn jumper with 8:28 remaining, however it was all Ole Miss from that point on as they used a 6-0 mini-run to take control of the game. The Illini would get no closer than four the rest of the way.
"Just like earlier this season against South Carolina, we started off well and then I think we got comfortable," Illinois head coach Jolette Law said. "We need to learn to play a 40-minute game and play with a sense of urgency. I have to give a lot of credit to Ole Miss because they didn't let up. They were able to get the momentum in the second half, and once they gained confidence they didn't let it go."
Penn hit 10-of-19 from the field for her 24 points, while eight of her 14 boards were on the offensive end. It was her fourth career double-double and her third this season. Sophomore Adrienne GodBold had eight points and four rebounds, while juniors Eboni Mitchell and Lana Rukavina each added six points for the Orange and Blue, who saw all nine players that dressed score and log at least 12 minutes.
The Fighting Illini shot 36 percent for the game (24-of-66) and just 17 percent from three-point range (3-of-18) and 56 percent from the line (10-18), while the Rebels were 40 percent overall (24-of-60), 44 percent from three (8-of-18) and 70 percent from the line (14-of-20). Illinois outrebounded Ole Miss 47-36 and controlled the paint by a 36-18 margin.
McFarland, a freshman, led Ole Miss with 24 points, including six three-pointers, and Kayla Melson added 21 points and nine assists for the Rebels.
It was the last of three games in three days for the Fighting Illini, who topped Long Beach State on Friday, 69-48, and lost to #14 North Carolina on Saturday, 87-58.
"While I would have liked to have come home 3-0 or 2-1, I know that we played some great competition here and I think were able to find out where we stack up," Law said. "It's still early in the season, so we can take the disappointment from this weekend, go to work in practice and learn from our mistakes. We know we can compete with teams like North Carolina and Ole Miss in spurts, but we need to learn how to play 40 intense minutes each and every day."
Illinois returns to the Champaign to face North Carolina State at Assembly Hall Wednesday night in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The game is slated to tip at 7:30 pm CT and will be televised by the Big Ten Network.
2010 Waikiki Beach Marriott Rainbow Wahine Showdown - ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM
Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga
Alexis Burke, Illinois
Valencia McFarland, Mississippi
Jessica Breland, North Carolina
Keisha Kanekoa, Hawai`i
MVP: Italee Lucas, North Carolina
